The Adventures of the Doctor's Amazing Hand
by cheri1
Summary: 10/Rose. What if the Doctor's hand was sentient before it became the clone? What if it could move around and think and know what was going on around it? The life of the Doctor's hand before it became the clone.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I came up with this idea after reading my friend Carol's story called All Hands. She's Ninewood and her story is on Teaspoon if you want to check it out. Her story centered around the severed hand being sentient and interacting with the Doctor and Donna. I came up with a few ideas of my own for a sentient severed hand and Carol gave me permission to use her idea and run with it. So this is the result.

Chapter One

What had he ever done to deserve this?

Once upon a time he had been the Doctor's hand, his true hand, regenerated and brand new. Then it happened…one blow from a Sycorax's sword sent him plummeting to the ground. The impact of it somehow jarred the little hand into life. For some odd reason, he could now see and feel and think even though he had no eyes or brain. He figured it was a testament to the power contained within the Doctor that his own body parts could live on their own. Then again, it could just be a really weird, impossible occurrence.

Anyway, he had just been preparing to get up on his fingers and walk away to begin his new life when he suddenly saw a familiar face approaching him. He played possum and lay perfectly still hoping he would pass him by but instead Jack Harkness stopped and picked him up. The hand kept still while Jack turned him over and touched him. Then he looked up at the Sycorax ship high overhead and grinned.

"I bet I know who you belong to, little friend," Jack said. "And if I'm right, you can be of use to me. I'll find a way to get back to the Doc if it's the last thing I do."

The hand wondered what that meant and what possible use Harkness could have for him. Jack walked a block over to a black SUV and climbed inside the driver's side. He laid the hand on the passenger side. The hand quite liked the feel of the seat after the cold hard ground he had landed on. Suddenly, he felt Jack's fingers stroking the back of him and he suddenly wondered if this use he had in mind was sexual and if so, how could he stop him before he ended up with his fingers in Harkness's anus. He debated whether he should run across Jack's lap and leap down out of the car before Jack closed his door. The hand lay there, unsure of what to do, while Jack started the car up and drove off.

Jack slowly walked through the Hub, keeping alert for his team. He kept the hand underneath his long coat hoping he'd be able to keep it out of sight long enough to get it to the lab and into a container. He realized it was a bit weird and disturbing to take the Doctor's severed hand for a possible Doctor Detector machine he had in mind but he just had to know why the Doc had abandoned him, plus that kiss they had shared made him hungry for more. He knew the Doctor fancied Rose but he figured he could be accommodating and let him have a kiss or two every so often as long as he let Rose have the lion's share of the snogging.

He reached the lab without detection. He laid the hand on the table and quickly threw his coat over it while he went to look for a container. Five minutes later he found a large glass jar in storage and rifled through a large cupboard for a liquid solution that would preserve it indefinitely.

The hand lay under the coat pondering its next move. Tentatively, it tried to pull itself along but the metal table was too slick and he wasn't able to move, not without rising up on his fingertips and that was the last thing he wanted to do since Jack was so fixated on him at this moment. The hand heard something hard slam down on the table beside him and wondered what the hell was going on. He listened while something was being poured and for one terrifying moment he imagined Harkness pouring an entire fifth of Jack Daniels into a jug and getting himself completely pissed before having sex with him. Then the coat was lifted off of him and he could see a glass and metal jar beside him that was filled with some kind of clear fluid. Again, he wondered if this was a tall jar of vodka when suddenly Jack grabbed him and without a word plopped him down into the solution. The hand thanked the gods that he didn't have a mouth or nose and couldn't drown. Still, it was uncomfortable being submerged in whatever he was submerged in. Even more disturbing, Jack put a lid on the jar, trapping him inside. He watched helplessly while Jack bent over and stared at him through the glass with a lopsided smile on his face and what he swore was a look of lust that chilled him to his finger bones. Jack leaned back up, grabbed the jar and the hand watched while he carried him to a corner of the lab. For the next hour or so, Jack busied himself making his Doctor Detector as he called it and when he was finally finished, he told himself that he needed to test it out and left the room. The hand, seeing an opportunity, flexed its fingers rapidly and swum to the top of the jar. He put his fingers on the underside of the lid and pushed off hard. The severed wrist part of him hit bottom and bounced him back up to the top. He made a fist intending to smash his way out but the fluid slowed his momentum and he lightly hit the underside of the lid and floated back down. Inwardly sighing, the hand rested for a moment while it thought about what to do.

Then to his amazement, Jack came back in the room carrying a clear plastic container. He opened it up in front of the jar and the hand was stunned when he pulled out a pair of the Doctor's Y-fronts. He was even more stunned when he heard a dinging noise and Jack became ecstatic.

"Yes! It works!" he said, pumping his fist. "Now I just have to put this baby in a safe place where the team can't find it while I wait for the Doc to come back to the rift and set it off."

The hand watched while Jack started to put the underwear back. He wondered briefly where and when Jack got his hands on the Doctor's underwear and then decided he didn't want to know. Jack paused in the middle of putting the underwear back and then to the hand's horror, he suddenly put the underwear up to his nose and inhaled deeply. He let out a shuddering sigh before putting the underwear back in the container. The hand heard him patting the top of the jar and watched him leave the room. At a loss for what to do, the hand floated quietly in his solution trying to come up with a solution to his odd predicament that would let him leave his prison before he became some kind of odd sex toy for the omnisexual Captain Harkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The hand was thoroughly bored. It had been a little over two years since he first got shoved in the jar and he had spent that time floating aimlessly in the solution watching and listening while Jack and his team went about their daily lives. For the most part he was out of the way and couldn't see what was going on in other sections of the Hub. Occasionally, he could hear them yelling to each other and sometimes they would bring in Weevils and he would watch them take the beasts to their holding cells but that was few and far between. Most of the time the hand just floated in the jar.

One day, Jack came into the room visibly frustrated. He walked over to his jar and bent down.

"Damn it, where is he?" Jack muttered to himself. "He's gotta come back sometime to refuel. I hope I didn't miss him before I found the hand."

He grinned at the hand and waggled his index finger at him.

"You need to work harder, little buddy, so we can find your former owner," he said to him.

Jack turned and walked back out, unaware that the hand was flipping him the vees.

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After a couple of months, the hand got the idea to bounce up and down in the jar and try to loosen the lid. He did it when he was sure no one was around so he wouldn't arouse suspicion. Over and over, it would go up and down and smack its fingers on the underside of the jar, trying to loosen it.

It was in the middle of yet another endless round of bounce and smack when Jack came into the room. The hand stopped what it was doing and froze. This time Jack did have a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass. He settled down in a chair beside him and the hand watched while Jack downed shot after shot of whiskey getting himself good and drunk. After he finished one bottle, he staggered out the door and came back with another. After taking what seemed like his fiftieth shot of whiskey, Jack poured another and paused, holding it in his hand and swirling the contents around in the glass.

"You know what today is?" he said, talking to the hand in a slurred voice. "This is the anniversary of the Battle of Canary Wharf. The day Rose died."

The hand knew better but there was no way to tell the drunken man so he watched while Jack downed the shot and poured another. He paused again with the drink in his hand while he stared off into space.

"I shoulda been there," he finally slurred out. "But it was Torchwood and I wasn't allowed to attack my own organization, no matter how reckless and irresponsible they were. It's their fault Rose is dead."

The hand shuddered when Jack threw the full shot glass across the room, shattering it into several large fragments.

"Damn the Doctor for leaving me behind. If I'd been with them, I coulda saved her. As much as I wanna find the Doctor so we can be together, I also wanna beat the living daylights out of him for doing that to her. He was s'posed to keep her safe! He promised he would but I should have known better. The bastard's even more reckless than I am and now Rosie's dead. Sometimes I wonder if she should have gone with him in the first place."

Jack slowly rose up out of his chair and gripped the back of it for support. He stared down at the nearly empty bottle of whiskey on the table and let out a ruthful laugh.

"Almost finished it," he slurred out, looking back at the hand. "Shoulda finished it and started on a third bottle but what's the use? If I get alcohol poisoning and die, I'll just come back to life a few minutes later."

He stared down at his arm and shook his head.

"Wish I knew why I can't die," he slurred. "Surely this wasn't acquired at birth. My people died naturally, they didn't die and come back to life a few minutes later. Was it that Dalek that did this to me?"

He shook his head and chuckled.

"Why am I even talking to you? You're just a hand in a jar. S'not like you're gonna answer back, right?"

He staggered over and patted the lid.

"Night, buddy, keep an eye on things for me. Gotta sleep this off before Yan finds out. If he finds me this drunk, I'll never hear the end of it."

The hand watched quietly while Jack staggered away, holding onto tables and chairs for support. Before he left the room, he shut off the light and in the darkness the hand was left alone with his thoughts and his memories of Rose.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

It had been nearly a week since Jack had gotten drunk and the hand was still trying to escape. Thanks to his endless hours of bounce and smack the lid was beginning to loosen and he felt with a little more effort, he would be able to escape and get his revenge on Jack for imprisoning him there.

In between rounds of bounce and smack, the hand amused himself by thinking of songs and snapping his fingers in time to the beat. He also tried making shadow puppets but since he was only one hand, the animals he could make were very limited. The jar was narrow and there wasn't enough room to turn upside down but he learned how to spin himself around in a circle and if he got up enough momentum, he could spin around and around quickly in the jar and get good and dizzy.

After a short break where he thought of the Macarena song while he snapped his fingers, he decided to try bounce and smack again. He began his usual rhythm, up and down, bouncing and smacking. Then after twenty tries, it finally happened, the lid budged enough for him to get his fingers through the gap and push it away. Overjoyed, the hand pulled himself up and out of the jar. Landing on the table, he stood up on his fingertips and shook the excess water off of himself. He moved slightly to the left and right, looking around for any sign of Harkness and his team and when he couldn't find them, he walked to the edge of the table, hesitated a moment, and then jumped down to the ground. A part of him wanted to get away but there was another part that burned for retribution so he suspended his escape plan for the moment in order to teach the captain a lesson.

He scurried along the floor looking for his target. Every so often he would hear a noise and duck into the shadows or underneath a table, waiting until he felt it was all clear again. He searched and searched and finally he found him. He was walking through the Hub, drinking a cup of coffee while he read a report in a manilla folder. The hand ducked under a table and let him pass by. When he went by him, the hand came out and silently followed him while Jack's attention was riveted on the report. Jack stopped for a moment and sat his coffee cup down on a table so he could turn to the next sheet of his report. The hand flipped onto his wrist and began to bounce a few times to get some momentum going. Then with one enormous bounce, the hand sailed up and smacked Jack's butt as hard as he could. He fell back to the ground and managed to scurry into the shadows just as Jack turned around. As luck would have it, Ianto happened to come into the room at that moment and Jack grinned.

"Very funny, Yan," he said to him.

Ianto stopped short.

"What is?" Ianto said.

"Smacking my ass like that."

Ianto stared at him.

"I didn't smack your ass, I was nowhere near your ass, Jack," he said.

Jack looked around.

"Really? Because there's no one else here and I turned around and there you were, so it must have been you," Jack said.

"I assure you I didn't touch your ass in any way. I have better things to do at the moment," Ianto replied.

Ianto passed by him. Jack watched him leave the room with a puzzled glance. He looked around but no one else was around. Finally, he mentally shrugged, turned the page of his report and picked up his coffee cup. The hand waited under the table, vibrating with silent laughter at his ability to confuse his captor. He waited a moment more and then skittered out from under the table and followed him again. Jack finished up his cup of coffee and walked into the kitchen. He set his cup on the counter and poured some more coffee into it. He fixed his coffee the way he liked it, laid his report down beside the cup and headed towards the bathroom while the coffee cooled a bit. The hand noticed a combination stepladder/seat near the counter. Using that, he bounced up to the counter and skittered across it. He looked around and noticed a saltshaker near the microwave. Grabbing it, he bounced to the cup, unscrewed the top and poured half of the salt into his coffee. He put the lid back on and put the saltshaker back. On the way there, he noticed several pencils and pens lying by a large pad of paper near the fridge. He grabbed a pen and bounced back to the report. Hurriedly, he doodled all over it, making smiley faces and writing obscenities and remarks about Jack's small penis. When he was done, he threw the pen down and bounced back down the stepladder. He scurried across the floor and made it to the table just as Ianto entered. Ianto reached up into the cabinet, got a cup and poured himself some coffee. While he did that, Jack came back inside, grabbed his cup and took a swig of coffee. Ianto spun around when Jack made a face, ran to the sink and spat out the liquid.

"What's wrong with you?" Ianto said.

Jack glared at him.

"What's wrong is someone poured a ton of salt into my coffee," he said to him.

He narrowed his eyes.

"You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Ianto?" he said.

"No, I didn't touch your coffee."

"Uh-huh, just like you didn't touch my ass."

"Yes, I didn't touch your coffee or your ass," Ianto said angrily. "I came in here after your cup was fixed and I didn't lay my hands on it. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't accuse me of things I didn't do."

Ianto walked away with his cup.

"Well, you're the only one in here at the moment so I'm assuming you're pulling these pranks."

"Whatever, Jack, think what you like," Ianto said, walking out of the kitchen.

Jack sighed angrily while he dumped the coffee out in the sink. He rinsed out his cup and poured himself some more. He fixed it to his liking and then started to pick up his report. His mouth dropped open when he saw the doodles and obscenities. He took a sip of coffee while he read the hastily written blurb about how a mouse's dick was bigger than his and then he stomped out of the kitchen in search of the culprit. The hand waited till he was out of sight before he followed him again.

Jack walked up to Ianto and slammed the folder down on a table in front of him.

"I suppose you had nothing to do with this either," he said to him.

Ianto glanced at it.

"No, I didn't," he said, turning his eyes back to the computer monitor.

"Okay, where is everyone else then?" Jack said.

"I think they went out somewhere to eat lunch," Ianto replied coolly.

"Why didn't you go with them?"

"Because I was busy, I told you I have things I need to get done and that leaves me no time to play pranks on you. I wouldn't scribble on your report and I certainly wouldn't write all these vulgar things. I'm more mature than that. However, I'm beginning to wonder if you're doing these things yourself so you can blame me and have a laugh."

"No, Ianto, I'm not doing this to blame you and have a laugh about it."

Ianto shrugged.

"Don't know what to tell ya then. It's not me. I'd never think of writing something like Jack Harkness likes to shag donkeys in the ear. Like I said, I'm far more mature than that. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my work now."

Jack sighed. He picked up the report and sipped his coffee while he walked away from Ianto. The hand shook with silent laughter and, sticking to the shadows, followed Jack. On the way, he noticed the front door. He stared at it for a moment and then decided that it was time to make an exit. He ran over to the door and stood in front of it, staring up at the handle while he tried to figure out a way to get up to it.

Suddenly, he heard the voices of the other members of Torchwood as they neared the other side of the door. Panicking, the hand tried to scurry away to safety, but Gwen opened up the door before he could hide. The hand, not knowing what else to do, fell on his side and played possum while she, Owen and Tosh came in. The trio stopped short when they noticed him lying on the floor.

"Okay," Gwen said, "anyone know why there's a severed hand on the floor?"

They stood and stared at it in a puzzled silence. A moment later, Jack walked up to them.

"I thought I heard you coming inside. Did you have a nice lunch…"

He trailed off when he caught sight of the hand and paled.

"Jack, do you know why there's a hand here in the middle of the floor?" Tosh asked.

"Um…it's a prank," Jack said.

"Prank?" Owen said.

"Yeah, it's a rubber hand I bought. I thought I'd lay it there and see if you noticed so I could see your reactions. Funny, huh?"

Jack let out a nervous laugh that quickly died away when he noticed no one else was joining in. He snatched up the hand.

"Anyway, I'll put this away now. Back to work, time is money, you know! I don't pay you to stand around and stare at joke hands!"

The trio watched while Jack ran away, clutching the hand to his chest on the way back to the jar.

"Anyone else think that Jack's been working too hard and needs a long, long rest?" Owen said to them.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

After Jack put him back in the jar, he put the lid back on good and tight and now matter how hard the hand tried, he couldn't budge it. After awhile, he finally gave up and resigned himself to his fate, figuring that since Jack was immortal and he was probably immortal, they were going to be together for a very long time. As the days went by, depression took over and he floated in the preservative, wishing more and more each day that Jack would just throw him in the incinerator and end his life.

One day the hand was floating lazily in his jar when suddenly Jack stepped into the room.

"Where are they with those coffees?" Jack said to himself.

The hand sighed inwardly and was about to go back to his own thoughts when suddenly he heard the dinging sound again. He shuddered inwardly. The last time he heard that sound, he watched Jack snort the Doctor's underwear. He really had no desire to see that again and wondered if there was a way he could block his vision before Jack started running the underwear back and forth between his crotch. Then he heard it along with Jack. The old thrilling familiar sound of the TARDIS materializing. For the first time in a long time he felt some hope that perhaps his former owner would return, see him and take him away from his randy jailer. He saw the huge smile on Jack's face and watched as he sprinted to his office. He returned a few minutes later with a duffle bag. He pulled off the wires that had been attached to the jar and opened the bag. The hand grunted when Jack threw him inside, zipped it up and put it on his bag. Then he felt him running hell for leather through the Hub.

The bag bounced around on his back and the hand grunted when he was jostled around in his jar. He finally had to put his fingers up to save himself from repeatedly smacking into the jar.

"DOC-TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!"

The hand wondered what the hell was going on as he listened to Jack's frantic screaming. There was no light in the bag so he had no idea where the lunatic was headed to. He bobbed up and down in the solution, trying to hold on while Jack bellowed the Doctor's name over and over. Then the pounding of Jack's feet ceased and he felt like he was sailing through the air. He heard Jack let out a pained grunt when he smacked into something. The impact slammed the hand into the side of the jar and he inwardly cursed Harkness for bringing him along.

"Doctor! Open up! It's me!" he heard him say.

The next few minutes he heard nothing except Jack screaming the Doctor's name at the top of his lungs and then everything went quiet and the hand grunted when the bag slammed hard into the ground. The hand floated in the solution, listening and trying to determine what was happening. He could hear the Doctor talking somewhere off to the left of him along with the unfamiliar voice of a woman. He could hear the woman's distress and listened while she told the Doctor he was dead. Then he heard a loud gasp and a startled scream from the woman. The hand continued to listen to the conversation while he tried to figure out a way to attract the Doctor's attention. He tried everything he could to get his attention. He smacked the side of the jar and tried to project his thoughts into the Doctor's head with the hope that they were psychically linked, but nothing worked.

His spirits sank again when he realized that unless someone opened the bag the Doctor would be ignorant of his presence. He only half listened to the conversation going on outside the bag while he kept on trying to think of a way to get a message to his former owner.

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It was some time later that the hand finally had a chance to communicate with the Doctor. He had been listening while they were talking to a professor Yana and suddenly, he heard the bag unzip. Light flooded in and he saw a black woman looking inside at him. Her curious expression became one of disgust and she seized the jar and brought it out of the bag.

"Oh my God!"

He realized that this was Martha when she said that. He saw the Doctor nearby looking at him in shock while Jack quickly hurried over to Martha's side. He watched while comprehension slowly dawned on the Doctor's face.

"But..that's my hand," he said.

"I said I had a Doctor detector," Jack said smugly.

The Doctor sat down beside him and peered in. The hand was unsure whether to make a move since everyone else was looking at him too. He wished fervently that some sort of telepathic communication existed between them. He stared at the Doctor's right hand and felt absolute envy that all this time the other hand had gotten to be dry and comfortable on the Doctor's wrist. He waited and watched while they chatted.

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Finally, there was a free moment and the Doctor told Jack he would put the jar in the TARDIS.

"You found me, Jack. This belongs to me now," the Doctor said to him.

Jack shrugged.

"Suit yourself," he said.

The Doctor waited till he walked off before he bent back down and looked into the jar.

"I don't know where you got this hand, Jack. Frankly, I really don't wanna know but I'm not about to let you keep it as a souvenir," the Doctor muttered while he stared in at the hand.

He was about to grab the jar when suddenly he noticed the fingers flickering. He frowned and leaned forward, wondering if he had imagined the movement. Then it happened again. The fingers moved.

"Muscle spasms?" the Doctor muttered. "Can't be though, not after this long…"

He jerked his head back when the hand slapped the side of the jar. He leaned forward and watched in fascination as the hand waved at him. Unconsciously, he waved back before he caught himself. His eyebrow arched when the hand pointed up to the lid and froze in that position. The Doctor looked around but everyone else was busy and didn't notice what was going on. The Doctor pried off the lid and gasped when the hand grabbed the edge, hoisted himself up and came down onto the table. Perplexed, the Doctor watched while the hand got up on his fingertips and shook the water off.

"What is going on? Did Jack do this? Some kind of Torchwood technology that animated my hand?" he muttered.

The hand fell back on his wrist and signed, "No." to the Doctor. The Doctor's eyebrows rose almost to his hairline.

"You understand what I'm saying?" he said to the hand.

_Yes_, the hand signed to him.

The Doctor looked around again.

"How is it that you're living?" he asked him.

_I don't know,_ the hand slowly signed back using the sign language alphabet. _I came to life when I hit the ground._

"Can you see me?"

_Yes,_ the hand signed. _Will you please take me away from Jack? He creeps me out._

The Doctor chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I can understand that. He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

_No, thank God._

"I'll take you with me. I'm not about to let Jack have you. But you have to go back in the jar for the moment."

He noticed the hand shudder at that and he gave him a sympathetic look.

"I understand but I want you to be safe and frankly I don't want Jack cottoning on that you're alive. I'm sure you feel the same way.

_Yes._

"Once Jack is gone, I'll take you to my lab on the TARDIS and see if I can help you somehow. But I want you to stay in one place so I don't have to go looking all over for you, alright?"

_Yes._

The Doctor noticed Yana was turning towards him. He gently picked up the hand and put it back in the jar.

"Just relax and don't let anybody else know that you can move. I'm taking you back to the TARDIS right now."

He frowned when the hand pulled himself up to the rim, pointed to his right hand and beckoned to it. The Doctor brought his hand up to the rim and he smiled when the hand patted it lovingly before he pushed himself back down into the jar.

"This has been one odd day so far," the Doctor muttered while he put the lid back on the jar.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The Doctor was about to take him back to the TARDIS when Yana suddenly got his attention and asked for his help. He told Yana he'd be there presently before turning his attention back to the hand.

"I'm busy right now and I really don't have time to take you back, so I'll just leave here for the moment," he whispered. "Just relax and once this is sorted out, I'll take you back to the lab and we'll try to find a way for you to exist and live some kind of normal life."

Pausing a moment, he lowered the jar to the floor, removed the lid and the hand came up to the rim. He put his hand in front of him and the hand hopped out and laid on it. The Doctor stared at him for a moment with silent curiosity. The hand rose up on his fingers. The Doctor felt the hand staring at him and wondered how he could do that without any eyes.

"Curiouser and curiouser," the Doctor muttered.

He hesitated a moment and then gently stroked the back of the hand. When he pulled his hand away, the hand slowly fell back on its wrist and gave him the OK sign. The Doctor smiled.

"You liked that, did you?"

The hand lowered and raised the hand part of itself up and down, signifying a nod. He then gave him a thumbs up. The Doctor smiled at that.

"At the very least, I could keep you here with me, perhaps as a pet," he said to him. "Would that be offensive to you though?"

The hand thought for a moment and then twisted his hand back and forth to simulate a shaking of the head. The Doctor glanced at Yana and then stroked the back of the hand.

"Gotta go, little mate, but I'll be back soon and we'll get this sorted out."

The hand gave him another OK sign and the Doctor lowered him into the solution and put the lid back on. The hand watched him go, feeling happier than he ever had in his short life.

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The hours passed by while the hand rested and rejoiced that finally he was going to spend his life not having to look at or touch Jack Harkness's anus. He actually looked forward to being the Doctor's pet. Perhaps he could even be a mini-assistant since he had basically the same knowledge as him. He inwardly smiled, imagining himself traveling time and space snugly in the Doctor's pocket.

His daydreaming was interrupted once again by the far away sound of a heartbeat… He had heard it almost from the moment he came to life, a distant heartbeat that seemed to get louder with each passing day. He had puzzled over it, that and the recurring dreams he'd been having.

He dreamed that he was back on the Doctor's body, only…it wasn't the proper Doctor's body because he could see the Doctor. They were standing on a beach facing one another and the Doctor was giving him an accusatory look as if he'd done something wrong. Then the Doctor raised his hand, the right hand that replaced him, pointed at him and said, "I condemn you!" it was usually at that point that the hand woke up but there were other versions of the dream where Rose was standing beside him while the Doctor said those words to him. Then there were dreams he had of a redheaded woman. Someone he'd never met before but somehow he knew her name was Donna and she was going to be important to the safety of the universe someday. He could still sense the timelines and he had a sense that the timelines were all converging on this single woman but for the moment he had no idea what any of this meant or what part he was going to play in it. He only hoped that everything would turn out alright in the end.

After awhile, the hand dozed off and fell into a dreamless sleep. He was jarred awake when he heard a commotion going on outside the jar. He saw Yana and Chantho arguing and then he heard something that chilled him to the bones. Yana told Chantho that he was no longer Yana, he was the Master. He suddenly knew he had to find the Doctor and warn him somehow. He watched as the Master electrocuted Chantho and then he froze when he came over to him. He involuntarily shuddered when he saw the look on his face, the sneer as he touched the side of the jar and it seemed like something more…his eyes held a lustful look in them, much like Jack's.

"I think I'll take you with me," the Master said. "I think you'll be of use to me."

The hand shuddered again. That was similar to what Jack had said when he first found him and he could only imagine what the Master had in store for him. He felt him pick up the jar and watched helplessly while the Master took him into the TARDIS. He set him down under the console and hurried back out. The hand immediately went into bounce and smack mode, trying to get the lid off so he could warn the Doctor. He suddenly heard the sound of a laser blast and the Master letting out a pained yell. He hoped someone was able to stop him but a moment later he staggered inside and locked the door behind him. He could hear the Doctor's frantic yells to open up, his pleas for the Master to listen to him.

"Killed by an insect, a girl. How inappropriate. Still…if the Doctor can be young and strong, then so can I."

The hand watched with silent horror while the Master regenerated into a new life. He couldn't hear the Doctor now, only Jack and Martha and other people yelling but he could imagine the look on his former owner's face. His horror increased when the newly regenerated Master began to power up the TARDIS.

"End of the universe, have fun! Bye, bye!" the Master said.

He then took the TARDIS into the vortex.

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Once the Master landed and left the TARDIS, the hand once again tried the bounce smack maneuver to try to escape. His spirits sank knowing it took a few months the last time to get the lid off and in that time the Master could do anything and everything to him. Fear made him work at a feverish pace and he spent all his time going up and down in the jar trying to get the lid off.

He was still going at it a month later when the Master finally appeared again. With him was an unfamiliar blonde woman. The hand froze as the Master walked up to the jar and they knelt down.

"There it is, darling. His hand," the Master said to her.

"Ooo, creepy," she said, stroking the side of the jar. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Follow me and you'll see," the Master replied.

The hand's spirits sank when the Master grabbed the jar and carried it out of the TARDIS while the woman followed him. While they walked, the hand stared at the woman and wondered who she was. He looked her up and down and noticed a wedding ring on her hand.

"Are you sure this is necessary, Harry?" the woman said to the Master. "He's stuck at the end of the universe."

The Master stopped, turned and put his hand up to her cheek.

"Ah, but my dear, you don't know the Doctor like I do. He won't give up that easily and if he does find a way back, we must be prepared and this hand will ensure that we'll have a weapon that'll render him useless and completely at our mercy."

The woman grinned at that and the hand was taken aback when the Master kissed her on the lips. The Master turned and continued on with the woman following him but now the hand was intrigued, wanting to know exactly who she was.

The curiosity was short-lived though when the Master opened a door and he saw they were inside a fully equipped laboratory. The Master set the jar on a table and took off the lid. Before the hand could jump out to safety, the Master plunged his hand in, seized him and brought him out. He held him up and he and the woman leaned in.

"And here it is, Lucy, the Doctor's hand," the Master said.

"Aw, it's so cute," Lucy said, wiggling the index finger.

The Master turned and put the hand down in between a vise. The hand watched silently while the Master caught him in between it and tightened it, making escape impossible. The hand was suspended in the air between the vise, watching helplessly while the Master went to a drawer and pulled out a scalpel. Lucy stood nearby, watching with interest while he came back over to the table.

"Now I just need a small tissue sample," the Master said.

The hand watched the Master's hand lower over his and then he felt a sharp pain when the Master cut a small sample of flesh off the back of the hand. The Master put it into a Petri dish and put a lid over it.

"At last, I have the means to punish the Doctor for all the times he's interfered with me," the Master said.

"Gee, Harry, it almost sounds like you want him to find us," Lucy said.

The Master grinned.

"Well, I have to admit seeing him again and watching him age will be worth the risk," he said to her. "Besides, you haven't met him yet. You should. He's quite a character. Perhaps…he can even join in on our lovemaking from time to time after we make him our slave."

The hand was taken aback at that. When he took him out of the vise and put him back in the jar, he suddenly noticed a similar wedding ring on the Master's hand and put two and two together. Lucy, far from being insulted that the Master might want the Doctor to join in, seemed to love the idea. The Master kissed her again and stroked the side of the jar once he was back inside and the lid was over him.

"For the moment though, why don't we take this into the bedroom and use it as a substitute for the Doctor?" he said to Lucy.

The hand shuddered at that. He suddenly preferred watching Jack suck on the Doctor's underwear to watching the Master shag his wife. He kept perfectly still while the Master picked the jar up. The Master stared at him for a moment with a huge grin on his face.

"You know, you might still be of use to me. I wonder what the Doctor's hand will feel like when it's stroking my genitals."

The hand braced himself for the horror that was to come as the Master took Lucy's hand and they walked out of the lab towards the bedroom.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

A year or more went by while the hand spent time in the Master's possession. In that time, he had been used as a sex toy by the Master and his wife as well as being left on the bedside table and watching while they went at it. But that was the only time he was able to see anything. The majority of his time was spent inside a metal briefcase in the dark, unable to see anything, only hear. During those times he tried to figure out what was going on. He cursed the fact that he couldn't communicate with the Doctor. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of him and he wondered if he really was stuck at the end of the universe now. From what he could figure out, it seemed like the Master was trying to run for prime minister under his assumed name Harry Saxon. He kept mentioning an Archangel Network and how that was going to help him win but it was hard for him to hear through the briefcase so he wasn't entirely sure what the Archangel Network was.

For the moment he had abandoned the bounce smack maneuver. Even if he could get out of the jar there was still the problem of how to get out of the briefcase and there was no way to unlock it from inside. So he spent his time floating and listening carefully, in case the Doctor did find him and needed information.

The intelligence gathering continued for quite some time until one day when he was listening to the president of the United States speaking to something called the Toclafane and suddenly there was a huge commotion. His spirits rose briefly when he heard the Doctor's voice but then they sank when after a minute he realized he was the Master's prisoner.

Then suddenly, the Master opened the briefcase and bright light streamed inside. He noticed that he was in a large room with several people standing around. He could see Jack and Martha and he saw the Doctor on his knees staring at the Master with a mixture of fear and horror. The Master had something that resembled a large, bulky sonic screwdriver in his hands and he was adjusting the setting on it.  
Suddenly, the Master pointed it at the Doctor and the hand watched in horror as the Doctor screamed and jerked around in a speed that was far too fast for a normal person. He could see Martha staring at the Doctor in silent horror while Jack fought the guards that were holding him back. The Master was concentrating on aiming the screwdriver at the Doctor but behind him, Lucy was standing there with a huge grin on her face.

The torment lasted for a few minutes and when it stopped, the Doctor fell to his knees an old man. Martha ran to his side and held him while he struggled to get his breath and his bearings. Guilt overwhelmed the hand. He had heard the Master say that the DNA used to age the Doctor had come from the tissue sample he took ages ago. He wished again as he watched the nightmare unfold in front of him that he had been incinerated when Jack first found him.

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A month passed and the hand once more was doing the bounce smack routine. He had managed to loosen the lid again from working almost non-stop at it. After he had served his purpose, the Master had tired of him and kept him in a corner of his office on the Valiant as a kind of trophy. To his relief, the Master didn't spend much time in his office any longer since that had outlived its usefulness also. Most of the time he left the door ajar and chillingly he could hear on occasion the screams and yells of the Doctor as he was being tortured. He had no idea what happened to Martha after she disappeared. He knew that Jack was chained down somewhere inside the airship but that was all he knew of his whereabouts. Most of the time the office was vacant since the Master had dropped the pretense of him being prime minister and he would see several guards pass by the open door and sometimes Lucy. None of them looked inside at him so he was pretty much free to try his escape attempt.

Then finally, he loosened it to the point he was able to get out. He climbed up and out of the jar and jumped to the table. He shook the solution off and looked around. He listened carefully but he couldn't hear anything so he hopped onto the floor and quickly scurried out the door. He went along the corridors trying to find a way out. He was going up one hallway when suddenly he heard Lucy behind him. He quickly scurried into the shadows, froze, and watched while she and a guard walked past him. He very carefully followed them, keeping to the shadows. They walked to a door at the end of the hall and the guard opened it for her.

"That'll be all. I have no need of you. The Doctor's too weak to hurt me," she said to him.

The hand perked up at that. He waited till the guard's back was turned before he ran across the room. Then just before he closed the door, he managed to slip through into the room. Lucy was at the far end of the room. In front of her the Doctor sat cross-legged in front of a tarp tent. Beside him was a yellow dog dish. The hand glanced around the room but they were the only ones present. He ran over to the stairs and stood there listening.

"So, how are we today, Doctor?" Lucy said sweetly. "I trust you recovered from your interrogation last night?"

"Who are you?" the Doctor said.

Lucy seemed stunned by that.

"I'm Mrs. Harry Saxon, you doddering old fool. What, is senility catching up with you now?" she said haughtily.

"That's not what I meant. Who are you in all this? Where do you come from? How did you meet your husband? You don't seem like the evil villain type, why do you allow this to go on? You can't approve of all this. You don't seem to be hypnotized so what it's in it for you besides the sex you get from him?"

"My, my, so filled with questions. I prefer to be just as mysterious as you, my dear Doctor," she said.

"You don't have to do this. You're a human, aren't you the least bit upset that the Master has ravaged your planet?" the Doctor said.

Lucy snorted.

"Nobody in this world treated me like a human being until Harry came along. They can all die, as far as I'm concerned."

"Then why am I still alive? Why haven't I been put to death? Isn't "Harry" concerned that I might find a way to stop him?"

Lucy laughed at that.

"You can barely take yourself to the loo, old man, what makes you think you'll be able to stand up to us?"

"There are other ways to fight besides physically," the Doctor said.

"Well, let's see you take your best shot then," Lucy said, shrugging.

The Doctor sat on the floor and glared at her. Lucy smirked.

"Thought so. I figured you were bluffing, old man."

"Don't be so sure…Mrs. Saxon," the Doctor said.

"That's right, I am. At least Harry cared enough to marry me. Unlike…Rose."

The Doctor stiffened at that and Lucy grinned.

"Harry mentioned listening in on your conversation with Jack. Who is she? Former lover?"

The Doctor stayed silent.

"Such a pity that she's trapped in another universe. I bet you could use the comfort of her body right about now, yeah?" she cooed.

She fell to her knees and the Doctor stiffened again when she ran her hand down the side of his face.

"Perhaps I could be a substitute for her?" she purred. "If I keep the lights out you can pretend she's me. I wouldn't mind if you called me Rose. It's such a pretty name."

She ignored the look of death the Doctor was giving her and continued to stroke his cheek.

"Was Rose pretty?" she said. "Did she bring joy to your life? Was she your everything? It must hurt that she's in another universe now away from you. I wonder if she's moved on with her life and found another. How does that make you feel, knowing she might have found another man to love and forgotten all about you?"

"You're making a lot of assumptions about my relationship with Rose," the Doctor said.

Lucy chuckled.

"I know a man's heart or hearts in your case. I know that eventually everyone longs for love, even a loner like yourself. But perhaps Harry could probe your mind and we could find out the full extent of your relationship. Would you like that? Relieving all those memories you have of her?"

The Doctor said nothing. Lucy grinned and leaned into his ear.

"Or…you could forget about her and make love to me instead."

"Or I could sit here and just soil myself like an elderly old fart," the Doctor said.

Lucy chuckled.

"You know," she said, leaning in close to his face, "Harry has the paradox machine. He brought the Toclafane back from the future. What if he could reach across universes and bring your beloved here?"

She smirked as she stared into his eyes.

"You do love her. I can see it in your eyes. You want that to happen. You tried to hide it but for a moment I saw the longing in your eyes. If you tell us what we want to know. If you tell us what happened to Martha, then perhaps I can talk to Harry and convince him to go get Rose. I'm sure she would be thrilled to see you, even though you don't look as young as you used to be. So come on, Doctor, be a good boy and tell us what you told Martha. Where did she go and what is she doing? Tell me and Rose could be yours again."

"Not a chance."

"But I'm offering you the chance to be with…"

"And I would never allow her to come here," the Doctor said, cutting her off. "I would never want Rose at the Master's mercy. I'd rather she was stuck in the other universe far away from him. As for Martha, I won't tell you what I told her so you might as well cut the whole seduction routine and the good cop, bad cop rubbish."

"Fine. I wouldn't shag you anyway, I'm sure your penis is shriveled up and dry now," Lucy said, standing up. "You wanna sit there all day and rot, that's your decision. I'd rather be with Harry than be with you."

"Then you've made the wrong choice and mark my words, you'll be sorry one day you stayed with him," the Doctor replied.

Lucy snorted, rolled her eyes and stomped towards the door. The hand squeezed further into the shadows and waited until she was gone before he took another peek at the Doctor. He was in the same place but his eyes were gazing at the floor while he was lost in thought. The hand hesitated a moment and then went to him. The Doctor noticed the movement, raised his head and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Well, I haven't seen you in donkey's years," he said.

The hand came to his side and the Doctor stroked the back of him.

"How are you holding up, little mate?" he asked him. "They haven't harmed you either, have they?"

The hand fell back on his wrist.

_No,_ he signed.

"But they did take a piece from you, didn't they? To age me?"

The hand "nodded" and the Doctor stroked the back of him.

"I think we're both in a bit of a bind here, yeah?" he said to him. "I'm too old to do much of anything right now and you can't take on the Master alone. I have a plan and they're trying to suss it out at the moment but it'll take time for it to come to fruition and with the torture I'm getting, I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be dead long before the trap is sprung."

_I heard what she said about Rose,_ the hand signed to him.

The Doctor smiled sadly.

"I miss her and a part of me wants to see her again but I wouldn't dare bring her back here. I know she can take care of herself but I wouldn't want her facing the Master. I don't want the Master anywhere near her so for the moment, I'm glad she's in another universe away from him."

The Doctor stared down at the hand who was lost in thought.

"Do you think about her too?" the Doctor asked him.

The hand nodded.

"You didn't get to spend much time with her since you got knocked off my hand right after I was born. Then you had to spend all that time with Harkness."

The Doctor shivered at that.

"Ugh, you poor defenseless thing," he said.

He noticed the hand quivering.

"What was that you just did?" he asked him.

_I laughed at that,_ the hand signed.

The Doctor grinned and gave him a gentle pat on his back.

"As much as I enjoy your company, I think you better get back to your jar before Mister Saxon realizes you swanned off. I'm already getting tortured; I don't want the same for you."

_I can help,_ the hand signed to him.

"Thanks, but for the moment there's not much we can do. The plan I have with Martha is on a schedule and I can't do anything before it's time. So please just go back to your jar and rest. I'll be alright. Just look after yourself, little friend."

He smiled when the hand patted his leg and gave him the thumbs up. The Doctor gently patted the back of his hand and gave him a thumbs up in return. The hand hesitated a moment and then started to walk off.

"Hey!"

The hand turned and looked at the Doctor when he called to him.

"Be careful out there and thanks for the visit. You've lifted my spirits for the first time in a month," he said.

The hand walked back to the Doctor and climbed up on his leg. He lay on it for a few minutes while the Doctor stroked the back of him and then he rose, hopped down onto the floor and hurried towards the door. It was then that he realized it was now shut. The Doctor groaned as he rose to his feet.

"Bollocks! I'll see if I can open it but I have a feeling it's locked," he said as he slowly shuffled towards it.

He tried the door and cursed softly when his suspicions were confirmed. He looked down at the hand who was standing beside him.

"Well, I s'pose you can stay in my tent for the time being," he said to him. "Just keep out of sight. If the Master learns you're alive there'll be no end to your torture."

The Doctor turned and shuffled back to the tent while the hand slowly walked beside him.

"I bet you're glad you got severed from me now, huh?" he said to him while they walked to the tent.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The hand lay inside the tent beside his former owner who had crawled back inside for a short rest. The Doctor looked his way and smiled when he saw the hand lying flat on the straw. He reached out and stroked the hand's back. He knew it was odd doing that since he was stroking what was once a part of his body but at the same time, it gave him some comfort almost as if the hand really were a faithful dog. He hated to send the body part back to the solution since he now knew it was alive and sentient but he also knew that the solution was a preservative and he was worried that if the hand stayed out of it too long he might start to decay. Thinking of that worried him and he hoped that if that were true, the hand would be able to get back to the jar before something happened to him.

The Doctor turned his eyes back to the top of the tarp and he became lost in his thoughts. He felt the hand get up and watched while the hand came closer to his body and lay back down.

"Better not get too close, mate. I might roll over on you during the night," he teased.

He smiled when he saw the hand quiver again and he resumed stroking him, feeling his stress and anxieties melt away while he did it.

"I wonder what Rose would say if she saw me doing this?" the Doctor mused while he stroked his hand. "After all, she watched you fall off the Sycorax ship and now here you are, beside me like a pet dog getting rubbed. I bet she'd have quite a few interesting things to say about this whole situation."

He felt the hand quiver again and grinned.

"You know, I was just thinking that you probably will have to spend most of your time in that jar."

The hand rose up and the Doctor could sense his distress at that. He explained his theory of the preservative to him as gently as he could.

"I'm not saying you have to stay in it all the time," the Doctor added when he was done with the explanation. "I'm just saying that you need to bathe in that preservative so you won't rot. I know you're alive but you're still a severed hand."

The hand considered that for a moment and then flipping onto his wrist, nodded in agreement.

"I've actually become quite fond of you which is a weird thing to say but then again you're not like a typical severed hand," the Doctor said. "I don't want to see you decay and rot, seeing as how you're a friend and all."

The hand walked over to the Doctor's face. The Doctor chuckled when he nuzzled the side of his hand up against his cheek.

"You're quite an affectionate little chap," the Doctor said when the hand laid back down beside his shoulder.

He thought for a moment.

"But you need a name, you know. A proper name. I can't just keep saying, "Hey, you!" when I want your attention," the Doctor added. "If you're a living being then you need a name. Any suggestions?"

The hand drummed his fingers while he and the Doctor thought.

"What about John Smith?" the Doctor finally said. "Or is that too boring for you?"

The hand stopped drumming his fingers while he considered that. He pushed himself up on his wrist.

_John is okay,_ he signed to him.

"You sure?"

The hand nodded.

"Okay, John you are then," the Doctor said.

The hand lay back down beside him.

"Yup, if Rose could see me now," the Doctor said while John quivered with laughter.

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Eventually, both the Doctor and John drifted off to sleep. The Doctor fell into a deep sleep, exhausted by the stress that had been put on his aged body. John dozed on and off but eventually, he decided to take a little walk around the room and explore a bit so he could see if there was a way he could help his friend escape. He came around his body and went out the flap. The room was semi dark. There were a few lights over the top deck and near the back by the elevator but that was all. The hand slowly walked around, looking at the immaculate room thinking to himself how a month ago there had been complete chaos inside it. He hated that his former owner had been aged to the point of infirmity and he was determined to find a way to help him. Hatred burned within him thinking of the Master and how he had tortured him and he wanted so much to do to him what he did to Jack when he first escaped. He trembled with laughter imagining him pouring salt in his coffee and pulling down his trousers and making his life a general hell before he and the Doctor finished his reign of terror. The other concern was Jack and Martha's family. He knew they were imprisoned somewhere inside the Valiant but he had no idea where.

Suddenly, he heard the elevator going back down and he knew someone was coming up. He quickly ran back to the Doctor. Entering the tent, he noticed he was still asleep. He fell back on his wrist and began to shake and nudge his shoulder, trying to wake him so he could prepare for whatever was about to happen. It didn't do any good so he resorted to desperate measures. Hopping to the side of his face, he raised his hand up and slapped him hard on the mouth. The Doctor grunted and his eyes snapped open.

"Oi, John, what's the meaning…"

_Someone's coming,_ John signed quickly. _The lift!_

"Oh no, that'll be the Master coming to interrogate me again," the Doctor groaned, struggling to sit up.

He sat up and smiled sadly when the hand walked up to his side. He could sense his worry for him and smiled at that.

"Don't worry, John. I'll be alright, I swear. Just get under the straw and stay out of sight, alright?"

John flexed his fingers, allowing him to nod while standing up. The Doctor stroked his back fondly and then watched while he scurried around him and dove into the straw. The Doctor quickly threw some straw over him while he listened to the elevator door open and the Master giving instructions to his minions. He had just enough time to cover him up before the Master was at the flap demanding he get out and go with him. The Doctor, resigned to his fate, slowly got up and out. John lay under the straw, burning with hate while he listened to the Master tease and taunt him about his old age. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the Master, the Doctor and the guards were gone. John came out of the straw and walked over to the flap. He glanced out and made sure no one was around before he headed back towards the door. He paused a moment, staring at it in silence and then he fell back on his wrist and began to bounce. He bounced faster and faster and faster until he'd gained enough momentum to make a huge bounce up to the door handle. He tried it and was relieved when he found it was unlocked. He held on to the handle, keeping it down while the door slowly, agonizingly fell open. When it was open enough for him to get his fingers through, John dropped down, hopped over and opened it enough to get out. He checked his surroundings and finding no one was around, he quickly headed down the hall, determined to find where the Master had taken the Doctor and help his new friend.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The Master paused to take a break after working the Doctor over. The Doctor, who was restrained into a leather chair, gasped and panted. His face had been bruised and bloodied from the numerous punches the Master gave him. The Master switched off a boom box that had been playing music while he roughed him up and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off his hands. While he wiped his hands he glanced at his aged adversary.

"Aren't you tired of this by now, Gramps?" the Master asked him. "It's been going on for a month now. All this constant pain and suffering, don't you want it to stop?"

"I won't tell you what you want to know so you might as well kill me," the Doctor gasped out.

"And have you miss my hour of triumph? I think not," the Master said.

"And what is your hour of triumph?"

The Master snickered.

"Oh, it's a secret. Course…we could always trade information. You tell me what you're up to and I'll let you know what my plans are for this mud ball and the universe in general. So how 'bout it?"

The Doctor kept silent and the Master threw his hands in the air. Throwing the towel back down on the counter, he stomped over and leaned into his face.

"You know, I don't know if you've realized this yet but you're not as young as you used to be and it wouldn't take much for you to regenerate. You're wasting your time, old man. Whatever Martha's up to, it's not going to work. You've lost, admit it! So you might as well stop beating around the bush and tell me what I want to know."

"Never."

The Doctor stared at the Master calmly while he silently fumed. Then suddenly, an evil grin spread over the insane Time Lord's face and he chuckled as he leaned back up.

"I know what'll loosen that tongue of yours, old man. Everybody has some sort of weakness and I know yours now. Rose."

He grinned when the Doctor stiffened at that.

"Leave her alone," the Doctor growled.

"Her too? First you tell me to leave Martha alone and now I can't touch Rose? Aren't I allowed to play with any of your companions? I'm guessing however that unlike Martha, Rose is very special to you and if you listen to her scream long enough you'll tell me anything I want to know, is that right?"

He leaned in again.

"You know, my dear Lucy was correct. I can use the paradox machine to bring her back here. Your poor lost love reunited with you. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

The Doctor tried to show no emotion at that. The Master leaned in closer.

"Your Rose, here in this very room," he said in a hushed voice. "Here by your side. Holding your hand, kissing you, telling you everything is going to be alright. Don't you want that now? When you finally do close your eyes and go to your eternal reward, wouldn't you like her face to be the last thing you see before your hearts' stop forever?"

"I said, leave her alone."

Suddenly without warning, the Master seized the sides of his head. Closing his eyes, he entered his mind. The Doctor tried to throw up psychic barriers but he wasn't fast enough and he swallowed hard when an image of Rose came to the forefront of his mind.

"So, that's what she looks like, eh? I see I'm not the only one who fancies blondes. So pretty and so young. I suppose it was an enormous boost to your ego to have a young blonde woman fall in love with you, huh?"

The Doctor gasped when he took his hands away.

"Well, now that I know what she looks like, I can bring her here," the Master said.

"Don't you dare. Leave her alone!"

"What do you mean? Don't you want her here? I mean, it might be fun having your lover on the Valiant. Then we could double date. You and me and Lucy and Rose out for a night on the town. Perhaps dinner, the cinema, some snogging down at the park, how 'bout it?"

"If you touch her…"

"Touch who? Lucy? I've touched her thousands of times….OH, OH you mean Rose. Sorry, I got mixed up there for a moment. Anyway, what would you do to me if I touched her? You haven't done much yet since I made you into an old man so tell me…what would you be able to do to me with this feeble, ancient body of yours?"

"I could make your life a living hell and you know it."

The Master folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the counter.

"So do it. Unleash hell, you old codger. Make me tremble."

The Doctor glared at him.

"Is that hell, those angry eyes you're giving me? Because if it is, hell's a pretty tame place. Come on, Grandpa, do your worst. I'm bored with roughing you up so rough me up now!"

The Doctor continued to glare at him and the Master laughed.

"Yeah, that was absolutely terrifying alright. Now I'll have to go and change my soiled underpants. Anyway…where were we? Ah yes, Rose. You know, I always love meeting your companions and this one looks to be very charming so I think I will use my paradox machine and bring her over here. I don't want to miss the tender reunion between you and her."

"No! Leave her alone."

"Nah, don't want to. So…I'm going to go and get her and you just sit here and bleed and try to unleash hell with your evil eyes. Cheers."

The Doctor fought against the restraints while the Master walked out of the room whistling cheerfully.

"Oh Lucy, darling," he heard him say as he exited, "set another place at the dinner table. We're gonna have company tonight!"

"No," the Doctor grunted as he tried to break free. "Not Rose, I won't let you harm her!"

He paused when he saw John hop up onto his leg. John quickly scurried over to the restraint around his wrist.

"That's it, hurry," the Doctor said. "We have to stop him bringing Rose over here."

John loosened the restraint on his left wrist.

"Cheers, my handy little friend," the Doctor said.

Suddenly, John heard voices outside the door. The Doctor cursed and laid his wrist back in between the restraint. John laid the leather restraint back over his wrist to make it look like it was still tight and then he quickly hopped off the Doctor and ran under a nearby table. Lucy entered the room with two guards.

"I heard we're going to have a special guest tonight," she said, walking over to him. "It must be exciting knowing you'll see Rose again."

"Stop him. Stop your husband. I'll tell you anything you want to know, just leave Rose alone."

"Oh, so now you'll cooperate? Now when we're threatening your beloved?"

"Please, you aren't like him. You can change. You can choose to do what's right. You can help me defeat him! Please!"

"And miss out on meeting Rose? No, I'd rather stay with Harry."

"Oi, mate, that wasn't funny!"

Lucy turned to the guard standing behind her. He was glaring at the guard beside him.

"What? What did I do?" the other guard said.

"You smacked my ass, that's what you did. Now keep your hands to yourself."

"I didn't smack your ass, George. I was nowhere near your ass," the guard said.

"Well, someone smacked it," George replied.

"Ahem!"

Both guards snapped to attention when Lucy cleared her throat loudly.

"That will be quite enough of that, thank you!" she said.

"But he smacked my ass," George said.

He muttered an apology when Lucy glared at him. She turned back around to the Doctor.

"Sorry, good help is hard to find. Anyway, as I was saying, I'm dying to meet Rose and…"

"Now you pinched it!" George said to the other guard.

"Pinched what?" the guard said.

"My ass, David, you just pinched my ass."

"No, I didn't. I haven't touched your ass," David said, incensed.

"Will you two stop it?" Lucy roared.

"But he pinched my ass," George said to her.

"I don't care if he puts your lips on your ass and kisses it, be silent!" Lucy growled at him.

"Yes, Ma'am," George said.

Lucy sighed and turned back to the Doctor.

"See what we have to put up with around here?" she said to him. "Anyway, there's no use resisting or trying to plead for us to stop. Rose is coming over here and joining you now. Perhaps I'll even ask Harry to age her so she can be the same as…"

She paused when she felt something hit the back of her head. She turned and noticed a wadded up piece of paper behind her. She glared at the guards.

"I didn't do that," George said quickly.

"Neither did I," David said.

"Really? Who did it then? A ghost?" Lucy said.

The guards shrugged. Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"I don't see anyone else in here. I was facing the Doctor so it wasn't him. Which means it must have been one of you and I'm warning you, if you don't want to end up in the torture chair, you'll behave yourselves!"

"But we didn't do it," George protested.

Lucy turned completely around and glared at them both.

"I'm not a fool so don't treat me like one," she snarled at them. "I don't know what sort of game you're playing but It'll stop this instant and…"

She yelled out in pain when she felt a hand grab her hair and jerk it. She spun back around and noticed the Doctor was in the chair staring at her calmly. She looked at his hands and saw they were both restrained.

"Who did that?" Lucy said to the Doctor.

"Did what?" the Doctor said, feigning innocence.

"Pulled my hair!"

"I don't know. I didn't see anyone," the Doctor replied.

He grunted when Lucy slapped him hard in the face.

"My patience is wearing thin, old man!" she snarled at him. "I don't know what's going on here but I have a feeling you do and if I have to have Harry torture you again to get the truth from you, I'll do it."

Suddenly, they heard the fire alarm. Lucy spun around and noticed the confused guards.

"Well…go find out what set off the fire alarm, idiots!" she growled at them.

They saluted and hurried out the door. Lucy glared at the Doctor.

"I'll be back shortly so don't get any ideas about escape," she said.

The Doctor watched while she hurried out the door. He grinned when John leapt back up onto his leg.

"Brilliant, my friend. Sheer genius," he said proudly.

John fell back on his wrist and bowed with the front part of his hand.

"Now hurry," the Doctor said, taking his free hand out of the restraint. "We have to find the Master and stop him from finding Rose."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Jackie Tyler looked over her shoulder when Rose came into the kitchen. Rose slumped down into the kitchen chair, exhausted.

"Rough day, love?" Jackie asked her.

"Very rough," Rose said, putting her head in her hand. "Two more alien sightings. One of them was out in the country. Some kind of dog alien eatin' a farmer's livestock. We managed to capture and contain it but not before James was injured."

"Who's James?" Jackie said to her while she chopped up vegetables for stew.

"Colleague. He's part of the team that was sent out today. I was in charge," Rose replied while she stared down at the kitchen table.

"Is he a nice boy?" Jackie said, glancing over her shoulder.

"Nice enough, I s'pose, why?" Rose said, looking at her.

"Just wonderin'," Jackie said, turning her attention back to the vegetables.

"Mum, I'm not over him yet. I don't know if I'll ever be over him," Rose said.

Jackie sighed.

"Rose, he's gone and he's not comin' back. It's time you moved on with your life and forget about the Doctor," she said, glancing over her shoulder.

"I can't forget him, mum. You don't know him like I do. You didn't travel with him. He's one in a million, mum, and I lost him for good."

"Well, perhaps it was for the best. You had your fun swannin' all over the universe, now it's time to settle down, work at a proper job and have a normal life."

"I told you before. I can't go back to a normal life, not after what I've seen with him," Rose said angrily.

"Well, you better try," Jackie said, slamming her hand on the table and spinning around. "Because your knight in shining armor is in a completely different universe now and there's no way he can come back to ya. I heard him meself that day on the beach. You told him goodbye, now let him go and move on. Frankly, I'm tired of hearing you whinging about how you won't ever find someone else like him. It's not the end of the world, Rose!"

"It is for me!" Rose yelled, getting up from the table.

"That's it, Drama Queen, go to your room and sulk for the next five hours," Jackie said when she stomped out of the room. "Supper'll be done when you're ready to come back down and behave properly!"

Sighing angrily, she threw down her knife and went to pour herself a glass of wine.

"I swear, that child. I wish that Doctor had never come into our lives," she muttered as she reached into the cabinet for a wine glass.

She paused with her hand on the stem of a wine glass when she heard a whooshing sound behind her. She turned around and her eyes boggled when she saw a large hole forming on the other side of the kitchen. She stood and stared at the hole in silent shock when the Master and two guards stepped through it. The Master froze and examined her.

"Are you Rose? Because if you are, time has not been kind to you," the Master said.

"Who are you?" Jackie said.

"I am the Master and you and everyone else in this house will obey me," he said coolly. "Now where is Rose?"

"Why? What do ya want with her?"

She gasped when the Master stomped over to her.

"I want her to come with me and meet an old friend," he growled at her. "Now where is she, old woman?"

"Old? I'm forty, thank you very much and…"

She grunted when the Master decked her in the face.

"Rose, where is she? Tell me or you'll die right here and now," he said, grabbing her by the throat.

"Mum, what's goin' on?"

Everyone looked at the kitchen door when Rose came inside the room. She looked at Jackie and then looked at the Master.

"Let her go! Whoever you are, let her go, I'm warnin' ya," she said to him.

Rose! How wonderful to finally meet you face to face. I'm the Master, a dear friend of your boyfriend, the Doctor!"

Jackie groaned when she noticed Rose perking up at that.

"Where is he?" Rose asked.

"Funny you should ask because I came here to take you right to him," the Master replied.

"Why didn't he come himself?" Rose said. "Where is he?"

"Well, he's a bit shy lately because he's had a major face lift and…well, you'll just have to see him to know what I'm on about. So come on, Rose, follow the nice guards and I'll take you right to the Doctor."

"What'd ya mean, face lift? He's regenerated again?" Rose said, alarmed.

"Well, no…not exactly. Like I said, it's complicated so just follow the guards and you'll get all your questions answered."

"What about mum?" Rose said, pointing to Jackie.

"I'll let her go if you come with me," the Master said, shrugging.

"And if I don't?" Rose challenged.

"Then I snap her neck and force you to come with me anyway," the Master said nonchalantly. "Your choice, you know. So what's it gonna be?"

"Rose, don't go with him!" Jackie said.

"What choice do I have? I can't let him kill ya."

"Wise decision," the Master said. "Now, follow the guards and don't make any trouble and you'll be with the Doctor shortly."

Rose glanced at the guards and slowly walked to them. The guards flanked her while she took one last look at Jackie and then she stepped through the portal with them. The Master smirked at Jackie when she saw the shocked expression on her face.

"Sorry to ruin your evening. Don't know what you were going to cook but it looks delicious. Anyway, nighty night...mum."

Jackie grunted when the Master punched her in the face and rendered her unconscious. Chuckling, he picked up a carrot from the cutting board and ate it while he strolled back through the portal.

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The Doctor slowly made his way down a corridor while John rode in his jacket pocket. Despite his insistence that they hurry, the Doctor was still feeling his age and his progress was slow. The hand kept a close watch on their surroundings while they stuck to the shadows.

Suddenly, they heard voices and the Doctor pressed himself up against the wall praying that the shadows and pipes would conceal him. John came out of his pocket, dropped to the floor and stood in front of him.

Then the Doctor's hearts nearly stopped when he saw two guards coming around the corner with Rose between them. His throat went dry and he closed his eyes in anguish, cursing his frail body for slowing him down and preventing him from protecting her. The guards stopped in the center of the corridor with Rose and then the Doctor swallowed hard when the Master came up beside them.

"Well, where is he? Where's the Doctor?" Rose demanded.

"Oh, you'll see him in time. For now, I want you to rest in a nice comfy room. I want the Doctor to be ready for your reunion with him."

"I swear, if you've harmed him…" Rose said.

"Ah, you're too late, I'm afraid. I've already harmed him. Been harming him for the past month or so."

The Doctor noticed the anguished look on her face. It quickly dissolved into rage and the guards grabbed her arms when she tried to lunge at the Master.

"Spirited. I like that. I like spirited women because I like breaking their spirits in my torture chamber."

"Where's the Doctor?" Rose said frantically.

"I told you, you impatient thing, all in good time. Guards, take her away and secure her in a cell. I need to go and speak to my other captive and tell him his beloved is here now."

"No, let me go!" Rose said, trying to fight the guards as they drug her down the corridor. "Doctor! Doctor, where are you?"

"Damn you, Master, if she's harmed in any way…" the Doctor snarled.

He noticed John hurrying off towards them.

"John, wait," the Doctor said in a loud whisper.

He pressed up against the wall when the Master turned around and went back the way he came. He peeked around a pipe and noticed John was following the guards and Rose.

"Take care of her, little friend," he whispered. "I have to get back to my chair before the Master finds me gone and takes his anger out on Rose."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Rose grunted when the guards shoved her to the floor of a small, semi-dark, empty room. She quickly got to her knees.

"The Doctor, where is he?" she pleaded. "Please tell me if he's alright?"

"We don't know anything about the Doctor," one of the guards said. "The Master said you'll get to see him again at some point so I'd shut your gob if I were you."

Rose leapt to her feet and tried to get past them but the guards rushed her and slammed her up against the concrete wall, knocking the wind out of her.

"Don't try that again," the guard hissed in her face. "We can't kill ya but Mister Saxon can and I assure you he won't make your death pleasant. Now behave!"

Rose grunted when they slammed her down to the floor and walked off. Rose brought her knees up to her chest and her head fell into her hands when the guards slammed the door and locked it. She began to sob quietly; the pain of her separation from the Doctor coming to the fore again after it had dimmed over the past year. She wondered if the Doctor was even around. If perhaps the man had lied to get her to come with him. She wept quietly, her heart aching as she longed to see him again. She paused a moment when she felt someone tugging at the bottom of her jean leg. She lifted her head and her eyes bulged when she saw a severed hand near her leg. She stared at it in confusion, wondering if they had pumped some clear, odorless hallucinogenic gas into the room. Tentatively, she reached out and touched the back, trying to convince herself that she was seeing things. Her eyes nearly popped out when she felt the back of the hand and she pulled her own hand away. She watched in horror as the severed hand walked up to her side and flipped onto its wrist.

_Rose, can you understand me?_

Rose frowned when she saw the hand signing to her. Dumbly, she nodded in reply.

_Good, I'm glad,_ John signed. _Do you remember me? I was the hand that was cut from the Doctor's body._

Rose stared at John in shock, wondering if she had translated correctly. She was taking a sign language course that had been offered through Torchwood but she had just started. She knew the sign language alphabet now but still…

"You're…you're the Doctor's…hand?" she said slowly.

_Yes,_ John signed.

"But how? How can you be alive? You're not attached to him anymore," Rose said.

_I don't know,_ John signed. _I came to life when I hit the ground. The Doctor is here, Rose. We were on our way to help you when we saw the Master. He stayed back and I followed to make sure you're alright._

"The Doctor, is he alright? What have they been doin' to him…" she said.

She suddenly trailed off.

"I can't believe I'm askin' a severed hand about the Doctor," she said, shaking her head.

_He's alright for the moment,_ John signed. _But there's something you should know about him._

"What?" Rose said.

_The Master aged him. He's an old man now, Rose._

Rose stared at John in disbelief.

"How old?" she finally said.

_His body's been aged a hundred years._

Rose put her hand over her mouth and laid her head back against the wall, imagining what the Doctor might look like now. John hopped up onto her leg and lay down. He patted the leg sympathetically. Rose's anguish was replaced with curiosity. She gently picked John up and held him.

_Can you put me on your shoulder?_ John signed to her.

Rose put John on her shoulder and smiled when he stroked her hair for a moment. Rose swallowed hard, imagining the Doctor was there with her doing the stroking. She guessed in a way he was there and it gave her some comfort. She held her hand up to her shoulder and John walked onto it. Rose smiled when he lay down on the palm and threaded his fingers through hers, holding her hand. She put her fingers on his back and rubbed him. John squeezed back in reply.

"How are we gonna get outta this?" Rose finally asked.

John flipped up on his wrist and stood in the palm of her hand.

_We'll find a way,_ he signed to her.

Rose thought for a moment.

"You don't remember being on the beach with us, yeah?" she said.

_No,_ he signed.

"But…does the Doctor love me? I told him I loved him when I saw him last and he was going to say something to me but he was cut off. I think he was going to tell me he loved me in return but I don't know for sure. I know you got cut off right after he regenerated but…does he love me?"

_Yes._

Rose's breath caught in her throat.

_And so do I,_ John signed to her.

Rose smiled. She took the hand and pressed it against her chest. John lay flat and smiled inwardly when Rose stroked the back of his hand.

"Do you feel that?" she asked.

She put him back on the palm of her hand so he could sign his response.

_Yes, it feels good,_ he signed.

Rose hesitated a moment, feeling a bit awkward, and then she brought him to her lips and kissed the tip of his middle finger. Electric shocks went through John and he felt a euphoria he had never felt in all of his short life. In response, he laid his fingers against Rose's lips, wishing at that moment that he had a set of lips to kiss her with. Rose laid him in her lap and he held her hand again while she leaned her head back against the wall and stared at the door.

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The Doctor cursed under his breath as he slowly made his way back to the torture chamber. He knew that he was probably too late and the Master had discovered his disappearance by now. He knew that if that were the case he'd be walking right into his clutches and he'd have to endure another torture session, this time with Rose watching. He cursed his adversary for bringing Rose into this. As much as he wanted to see her, the last thing he wanted was for her to see him in this state and then watch him be tortured by a sadistic madman. He figured it was only a matter of time before they knew John was gone and he hoped his little friend had been able to sneak in with Rose or at least get to safety.

Halfway there, he decided that the Master had probably beaten him to the torture chamber and it was best to concentrate his efforts on getting back to Rose and escaping. His hearts ached, knowing that if he managed to disable the paradox machine, not only would she return to the other universe but her memory of coming here would more than likely be erased and with it, the memories of being reunited with him. He hated that she would have to go back along with the Toclafane and cursed the universe for once again denying him any real happiness.

But for the moment, he knew he couldn't focus on that. He just had to focus on finding Rose and getting her to safety so she could be hidden until Martha returned from her mission.

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After awhile, Rose decided to take a nap and prepare herself for what lay ahead. John stood by and watched while she lay down on the concrete floor. She turned on her side, smiled and touched his fingers.

"Thank you for being here with me," she said to him.

John flipped onto his wrist.

_You're welcome, Rose,_ he signed.

Rose crooked her arm and laid it under her head as John came up beside her and lay down. Rose laid her hand on top of his and both she and him lay still until they were both fast asleep.

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John was dreaming again. He was attached to the Doctor's body again and he and Rose were standing on the beach. Rose was crying and he was comforting her. The proper Doctor was nowhere to be found. John held her close, nuzzling her hair and kissing her, grateful now that he had lips to kiss her with. But even though he was on the Doctor's body, there was something not right about it. Something different, something…human that he couldn't put his fingers on. It felt like he wasn't finished in some way and yet, he could sense Rose's love for him even though he wasn't the Doctor she fell in love with. This dream was different from the others. In this dream there was no Doctor accusing him of some unknown crime and condemning him, there was only Rose and the promise of a life together. But as they stood there together, suddenly from out of the sky came a cry of anguish and pain. A loud, long scream of despair. He could tell it was the Doctor's voice but he couldn't tell where it was coming from since it seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. Then he heard the Doctor scream again, only this time he was screaming Rose's name. It was such a heartbreaking wail that John felt himself tear up. Then once that died down, the Doctor wailed another name. Donna. The name of the woman who was destined to save the universe. He glanced down at Rose but she didn't seem to notice the wailing, she was still weeping into John's chest.

Then the scene changed and he was alone with the Doctor in his console room. John stepped back when he noticed the Doctor was beating on the wall in an animalistic rage.

"IT'S NOT FAIR!" he bellowed as he beat his fists on the wall. "WHY THEM? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE THEM FROM ME? FIRST ROSE, THEN DONNA! WHEN WILL IT END? WHEN WILL I STOP LOSING THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT?"

He came over to the console and slammed his fist onto it.

"No more, never again," he said in a choked voice. "I'll never take anyone with me again. No companions, not now, not ever! I won't destroy anymore lives in return for companionship. If I live ten thousand more years I'm going to live those years alone!"

John ached at hearing that. He thought for a moment and then hesitantly approached his friend, wanting to calm him down and comfort him, make him see that things weren't as bad as they seemed and that with time he would be ready for another companion. But when he approached the Doctor, his former owner jerked his head up and stared at him with wild eyes.

"You!" he said to John.

John froze, suddenly scared of the hate in his friend's eyes. The Doctor stood up straight, his eyes dark as he glared at him.

"You!" he repeated, coming towards him. "This is all your fault! You're to blame! I trusted you. I became your friend and you did this to me! I thought you were a nice little hand but you went and caused me to lose everything! How dare you show your face in here again! I wish I'd thrown you in the fire when I first saw you. It's your fault Rose and Donna are gone now! I hate you!"

John was stunned into silence. He put his hands up, backing away as the Doctor gave him a murderous look.

"I want you to leave this TARDIS and never return, d'ya hear me?" the Doctor yelled at him. "Get the hell out of here and out of my life! Go back to Rose and enjoy her because I never will!"

"Doctor," John said to him.

"GET…OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUT!" the Doctor bellowed at him.

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The dream Doctor's scream was loud enough to wake up John and he instantly got up onto his fingers, trembling violently from fear. He looked over and noticed Rose was still asleep. He neared her body and lay down close to her chest, taking comfort in the feel of her warm body and the sound of her steady breathing. He thought about the dream and what it meant. His spirits sank when he realized that his future might be a bleak one. He heard that faint heartbeat again and realized that it was much louder than before. Was the heartbeat an indication of when all this would happen? Because if so, he knew there wasn't much time left and that scared him.

For the moment though, there was nothing he could do about it. He had to concentrate on the here and now and offer Rose what protection and comfort he could until the Doctor was able to get to her and get her to safety. Lying next to her warm body, he stayed awake while he guarded the woman he loved.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The Master whistled cheerfully to himself while he strolled down the hallway towards the torture chamber. He had Rose in his possession. Now all he had to do was torment the Doctor for awhile and taunt him before the big reveal and reunion. He thought about all the possible things he could do to the couple. He had his tissue compression eliminator in his desk. He considered shrinking Rose down and killing her after torturing her in front of the Doctor. He figured his enemy might like his girlfriend shrunk down to doll size as a memento of their relationship.

He was still going over possible things to do when he was suddenly stopped several feet away from the torture chamber door. A guard came up to him.

"Yes?" the Master said, slightly annoyed.

"Sir, we have information on Martha Jones and her possible whereabouts."

The Master perked up at that.

"Really? " he said.

"Yes, sir. Johnson has the full details. He sent me to fetch you."

"Very well, lead the way," the Master said, following him.

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The Doctor crept down a corridor, figuring any moment he would be nabbed by a guard and sent back to the torture chamber. He quicken his pace as much as he could, although the long walk was taking a toll on his fragile body and he was beginning to get tired and winded. He could hear the joints in his knees creaking and he cursed the Master for making him this way. In a way, he was glad Rose hadn't seen him. He was terrified of what she would say or do when she did see him. He was planning to become young again, that was all part of the plan he had in mind, the plan Martha was a part of but still, at this moment he felt embarrassed that even though he was far older than Rose now he actually looked it.

He reached the end of the corridor and peeked around the corner. His eyes widened when he saw what was at the end of this one. Jack Harkness was standing on a platform, his arms jutting out on either side, held in place by manacles around his wrists. The Doctor's hearts nearly stopped with anguish, seeing what the Master had done to his friend. He swallowed hard and crept forward, keeping his eyes open for any guards. There didn't seem to be any so he made his way over to Jack who was somehow fast asleep even though he was in an uncomfortable position.

Once he reached him, he looked around and then tapped him on the shoulder.

"Jack," he hissed in his ear.

"Huh?" Jack murmured in his sleep.

"It's me, the Doctor. Wake up," he hissed.

Jack slowly opened his eyes.

"Doc?" he murmured.

"Yes, Jack, it's me," the Doctor said in a loud whisper.

Jack opened his eyes all the way and stared at him.

"Still old, I see," he said to him.

"Yeah, well, I haven't found a way around that yet," the Doctor said. "Are you alright?"

Jack cocked his eyebrow.

"Do I look alright?" he said, jerking his head towards his right wrist.

"Apart from that, has he done anything else to you?" the Doctor whispered.

"You mean all the times he's killed me for shits and giggles?"

The Doctor's throat went dry.

"I'm sorry, Jack."

"For what? This isn't your fault, Doc. I chose to follow you. If anyone's to blame, it's me so don't start beating yourself up. From the looks of your face you've been beaten up enough already without that. Have you heard from Martha lately?"

He shook his head.

"No, I have no idea where she is. Do you know if her family's alright?"

"As far as I know. I don't see Clive or Francine but Tish feeds me every morning and she looks fine to me. Actually…she looks very fine, come to think of it."

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm not interested in hearing about flirting with Martha's sister," he said. "I came to tell you we have a complication now."

"You mean, we didn't have a complication before?" Jack said in disbelief.

Unconciously, the Doctor raised his hand to run it through his hair and then remembered he didn't have much hair left. He lowered his hand.

"The Master used the paradox machine again," he whispered to Jack.

"Why?"

"To bring someone else over into this time period."

"Who?"

The Doctor sighed.

"Rose. Rose is here," he said.

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John lay beside Rose, keeping his eyes on the door while he listened to her soft breathing. She'd been asleep for a couple of hours and in that time, no one had come to the door and nothing had happened to them. He began to wonder what the Master had in store for Rose. He figured perhaps he was back in the torture chamber beating on the Doctor and the thought of that made him angry beyond belief.

Twenty minutes later, he heard a tiny yawn and saw Rose slowly open her eyes. She rose up on her elbows and looked down at him.

"Hello, um…Hand," she said to him.

John got up on his wrist.

_Call me John,_ he signed to her.

"Okay, John. I s'pose that's better than calling you Hand," she said, sitting up.

John came to her side and Rose rubbed his back affectionately.

"What's going to happen to ya?" she asked him.

John got up on his wrist.

_How do you mean?_ He signed.

"I mean, are you going to stay a severed hand forever?" Rose said. "No offense but I don't think that's much of a life, yeah?"

_Not sure, I have dreams but…_

"But what?" Rose said.

_I dream that I'm on another Doctor's hand, a duplicate. But I don't know if that's a dream or a premonition,_ John signed.

"You dream?"

John nodded.

"About me?"

He nodded again and Rose smiled while she stroked his back.

"I s'pose I should be flattered that the Doctor loves me so much his body parts feel the same way," she said to him.

John quivered with laughter and then quickly signed out what he was doing since he knew the Doctor had been confused about that. Rose grinned.

"You're so cute, you know that. You're a hand but in many ways, you're like a person. I'm glad you came in here with me because having you here makes me feel less afraid."

_Good, I'm glad to hear that because the Master is more dangerous than anything you've ever faced and you have every right to be scared._

"How'd ya mean?" Rose said.

_He's a Time Lord, Rose, like the Doctor and just as cunning as he is but he's completely insane and he won't hesitate to hurt you to make the Doctor suffer._

Rose felt her blood chill at that.

"Do ya know if there's a way out of here?" Rose said.

_Not sure. We're high in the air on a huge airship called the Valiant. I don't know if it has escape pods. The Doctor and me haven't had much time to look. But I will try to protect you as much as I can and I know the Doctor will too and so will Jack if we can find him._

"Jack's here?" Rose said in disbelief.

John nodded.

"He was kidnapped by the Master?"

_Not originally. He found the Doctor with my help and was with him when the Master captured him. He was traveling with a woman named Martha and her family members are prisoners too._

"Martha? He was with another woman?" Rose said.

_He was traveling with her. He wasn't with her in the way you're thinking,_ John signed.

"I wondered. I mean, I didn't want him to be alone. I never wanted that. I just…I wondered if he'd forgotten about me."

No, he didn't. Neither of us could ever forget you, Rose.

Rose smiled at that and stroked John's back.

"It's nice to know that I have not only the Doctor but you lookin' after me as well," she said to him. "I never thought when I saw you fall off the Doctor's hand that we would meet again but here we are. It's strange but I'm beginning to see you as more than a hand now. I hope the Doctor thinks the same."

I think he does, John signed.

"Good because if he doesn't, I'll use you to smack him upside the head."

John quivered at that and Rose picked him up and held him to her while she sighed.

"I hope the Doctor's alright. I hope Jack's alright," she said while she rubbed his back. "And this Martha, whoever she is, I hope her family's alright as well. If he's as dangerous as you say then I'm hoping everyone comes out of this alive."

John wished the same while he lay against Rose's chest. She held him there for awhile, stroking his back and then suddenly, they heard voices outside her door.

"Oh God," Rose said in a hushed voice.

John wriggled out of her grasp and tried to get in the pocket of her jeans but they were too tight for him. He tried her purple leather jacket but the pocket wasn't big enough. Unlike Rose, the Doctor's pockets were bigger on the inside so he had no trouble getting in. Thinking fast, he went up inside Rose's shirt and grabbed on to her bra. Rose closed her jacket over the shirt and zipped it up hoping that would conceal him. She stood up and looked down; there was a slight bulge but nothing that would suggest she had a severed hand underneath. Knowing John was there and would be with her, filled her with courage and she gathered that courage and prepared herself for what lie ahead as the door opened and two guards came into the room.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

"Rose, come in," the Master said when the guards escorted her into the torture chamber. "I hope you're enjoying your stay aboard my Valiant. It really is a magnificent ship, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it's wonderful," Rose muttered. "Where's the Doctor?"

"Ah, well, I figured I'd get you comfortable first before I brought him inside. See, he's a little slow these days and I don't want you running off and trying to find him yourself."

John shifted slightly so neither of the guards could feel him while they were strapping Rose into the chair. Once she was strapped in, the Master came forward and gave her a winning smile.

"Have you met my wife, Lucy?" he said, pointing to his wife when she came inside the room. "I took a leaf from the Doctor's book and fell in love with a blonde human too. Course I have to admit she's better looking than you are, but to each his own."

"Where's the Doctor?" Rose repeated.

"My, my, you're in quite a rush. I'm trying to get acquainted with you. Learn more about the woman that captured the Doctor's hearts. Is it wrong to have a chat before we bring in the guest of honor?"

He rolled his eyes when Rose sighed angrily.

"Fine, I'll bring him in here then," he said angrily. "Guards, keep an eye on her. I'm sure she picked up a few tips from the Doctor when she traveled with him and I don't want her escaping."

He took Lucy's hand and walked out the door. The guards leaned back against the wall and leered at Rose. She tried to ignore their lewd comments about her body while she looked around, trying to formulate an escape plan. While she was looking towards a counter filled with scalpels and knives, she suddenly felt a finger running down her cheek. She turned to see one of the guards beside her staring down at her with lust in his eyes.

"You're beautiful, Love. I think after the boss gets done with ya, we might go on a date."

Rose snorted and looked away. She grunted when the guard grabbed her chin and jerked her head back.

"Wasn't done talkin' to ya, Blondie," he snarled at her. "I agreed to work for Saxon because I thought I'd get some perks and you are definitely one big perk. I'm not used to being ignored so don't look away again or else…"

"Come on, Richard, leave the girl alone," the other guard said as he leaned against the wall.

"No, Jerry, I won't leave her alone. I'm tired of being a grunt and getting nothing in return. I want a quick shag with this beauty. The old geezer certainly can't get it up anymore and I'm sure she wouldn't wanna shag him anyway."

He turned his attention back to Rose who was glaring up at him. He smirked at her as he got down in her face.

"Yeah, this bloke called the Doctor, the one you wanna see? Saxon aged him until he's nothing but a wrinkly prune-faced wanker. I'm a far better choice now."

"Somehow, I doubt it."

Rose grunted when he slapped her hard across the face.

"None of your lip, bitch! You keep your gob shut and let me do all the talkin'!" he said

"Richard, you better not let the boss see that."

"Oh, what's he gonna do, fire me? I'm not afraid of the git!" Richard said.

He leaned back over and held Rose's face still as he leaned in for a kiss.

"The boss!" Jerry hissed when he heard his voice.

Richard quickly let go of Rose's face and straightened up seconds before the Master came inside with Lucy. They noticed the Master was angry. He stomped over to Jerry.

"He's gone. The Doctor's escaped. I want you to take some men and find him! And find the hand too. I passed by my office and it's gone too."

John lay flatter against Rose's chest. Jerry and Richard started to leave but the Master put a hand on Richard's chest.

"I didn't say you," he said to him.

"Why? You want me to stay here and guard the girl?" Richard said.

"No, I want you to die. I heard what you said and what you called me. If you don't like working for me, I'll be happy to let you go."

Jerry and Rose gasped when he whipped out a gun and shot Richard point blank in the face. Rose swallowed hard when he fell over dead beside her. The Master shook his head while he put his pistol back in the waistband of his trousers.

"And he came so highly recommended too," he said with mock sadness.

He paused and noticed Jerry was behind him staring at Richard's dead body in shock.

"Still here? I thought I gave you an order. NOW FIND THE DOCTOR!" he yelled.

"Y-yes, Mister Saxon," Jerry stammered.

He ran out the door while the Master sighed and stared at the body.

"I s'pose I should have asked him to take this rubbish with him but he's a bit busy and I want everyone searching for your sweetie. After all, he tends to get into mischief when he's unsupervised. So…it seems that the reunion will be delayed further…which means that I have more time to talk to you. And I seem to recall while I was an old man on Malcasairo that the Doctor mentioned you looked into the time vortex. Interesting since you're an ordinary human as far as I can tell and yet you took the vortex into your body and lived. So…while we're waiting for the Doctor to show and sanitation to take this refuse away, why don't you tell me all about how you did it, hmmm?"

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The Doctor made his way back down the corridor. He had tried to free Jack without success and Jack finally urged him to get away before someone found him. He heard voices in the other corridors, people yelling at others that he had escaped and that the Master had ordered them to find him and he cursed under his breath for the hundredth time at his frail body and slow pace. He knew that the Master would probably take his anger out on Rose now and he had to focus all his energies on getting back to her before he did something to hurt the woman he loved. He froze a moment when he heard someone yell out that the hand was missing and cursed at that too. He hoped John was alright and somewhere where he could help save Rose. He waited a moment and listened to the voices, determining their location and distance from him. When he felt like they were far enough away, he went on ahead, mustering up every ounce of strength he had so he could find Rose and get to her as fast as he possibly could before it was too late.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

John was in a dilemma. He was listening to the Master trying to interrogate Rose about the Bad Wolf. He could tell he was getting angry because Rose was fuzzy on the details due to the fact that the only way she was able to remember anything about the event was because the Doctor had eventually told her and what he told her was the gist of what happened. He didn't go into what happened in depth which was why Rose wasn't able to answer all of the Master's questions. He knew that eventually he was going to start torturing in an effort to make her reveal the information he thought she was withholding from him and he couldn't let that happen. But in order for that to happen he had to reveal himself and let the Master know he was alive which put him in great danger. But with each passing second, he knew he had no choice. Rose meant the world to him and he couldn't stay silent while his greatest enemy tortured her to death. Gathering his courage, he quickly formulated a plan to lead him away.

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The Master sighed.

"I'm getting impatient, Rose, and I'm about to lose my temper and you've seen what happens when I lose my temper," he said, pointing to the body of Richard.

"I told ya, I don't know much, I can't remember what happened. The Doctor had to tell me," Rose said angrily.

"Well then, perhaps a mind probe will bring up those unconscious memories of yours," he said. "Course mind probes are primitive and painful. Not for me of course, for you. Plus the screaming gets on my nerves but if it has to be done, so be it. So, let me unstrap you and escort you to…"

He trailed off when he noticed something moving underneath Rose's jacket. Curious, he leaned forward, grabbed her zipper and slowly unzipped the jacket.

Suddenly, without warning, John lunged out of the jacket and bitch slapped him hard across the face. The Master reeled back in pain and shock as John slid out, ran across Rose's leg and jumped down on the floor. The Master, his hand on the part of his face where John slapped him, froze and stared at John in a stunned silence. His mouth dropped open when John flipped on his wrist and gave him a two finger salute. The Master lunged for him and John bounced up on his wrist and bitch slapped him harder before scurrying out the door. The Master growled and ran out the door after him while Rose watched.

"I don't know how you came to life," the Master snarled as he ran down the corridor after John. "But you're not getting away from me. I'll catch you and take you apart in my lab and…"

He gasped when he felt someone smack him hard in the ass. He turned and saw John waving at him. He yelled and lunged for him and nearly toppled to the ground as John bounced away on his wrist.

"What the hell is going on?" the Master said, righting himself and taking off after him.

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The Doctor froze and pressed up against the shadows when he heard the Master's angry yell.

"I'll get you, you hand! You won't escape me!" he heard him bellow.

A moment later, the Doctor saw John rounding the corner.

"John," he hissed at him.

John skidded to a stop and flipped on his wrist.

Rose is in the torture chamber, he hurriedly signed.

The Doctor nodded and knelt down so John could get in his pocket. Once he was inside, he got behind a pipe just as the Master rounded the corner and ran down the hall past him. The Doctor waited till he turned another corner before he quickly hurried back the other way.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Damn it," Rose muttered while she fought the restraints.

She'd been trying to free herself since John led the Master away so she could save him. She had heard him screaming about how he would take John apart in the lab and that made her frantic with worry about her new friend. She let out a frustrated yell when the restraints wouldn't give and she sighed as she slumped back in her chair.

"Great! I hate being imprisoned like this," she muttered.

Her eyes widened when John scurried back in the room.

"Oh thank God you're alright, John," she said. "Can you help free me now so we can find the Doctor?"

_I found him,_ John signed.

"You did? Where is he?" Rose said, looking around.

"I'm outside the door, Rose."

Rose's heart leapt when she heard the Doctor's voice.

"Doctor, oh God, please let me see you," she begged while she tried to get out of the chair.

There was silence from the Doctor and she frowned.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" she said while John leapt up on her leg and started to free her.

"I don't want you to see me," he said.

Rose's heart went out to him.

"Doctor, I know what they did to you," she said gently. "John told me. I don't care how old you look; I just want to see you again. Please let me see you."

There was a pause and then the Doctor shuffled through the door. He could see Rose trying not to show any emotion but there was a flicker of pain for a second before she hid it.

"Oh Doctor," Rose said when he came closer to her.

The Doctor touched her cheek, his eyes gazing at her lovingly, happy that Rose wasn't repulsed by his aged appearance. Both of them stared into one another's eyes, lost in the moment. They were both jolted back to reality when John snapped his fingers. The Doctor glanced at him and he jabbed his finger at the restraints.

"Oh yes, sorry," the Doctor said.

He and John quickly freed Rose and John jumped down on the floor while Rose stood up. The Doctor embraced her and held her tightly while Rose laid her head on his shoulder.

"I missed you so much," Rose murmured.

"So did I, it's good to see you again," the Doctor said, rubbing her back.

Reluctantly, he broke off the embrace. He bent down, put John in his pocket and then took Rose's hand as they hurried out of the torture chamber.

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The Master was fuming. He realized now that the hand had given him the slip and he felt like killing the first person or thing he came across. He didn't like it when someone made him look like a fool and he vowed that the hand, Rose and the Doctor would pay and pay dearly. He turned the corner and ran into a guard. The guard grunted when he grabbed his outfit and jerked him to his face.

"The Doctor is still loose and now the hand has apparently come to life so beware," he said to him. "I want you to tell all the men to be on the lookout for both and keep an eye on Harkness and Martha's family. The last thing I want is for them to be free. I'm going to go back to Rose and guard her so I'm trusting you to carry out my orders, is that clear?"

"Yes, Mister Saxon."

"Good and don't fail me because believe me, you'll regret it!" he snarled at him.

Letting go of his outfit, the Master cursed under his breath as he turned around and headed back to the torture chamber.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The Master hurried back to the torture chamber as fast as he could. All the way there he kept reassuring himself that Rose was still in the chair, that the Doctor couldn't have gotten to her so quickly or the hand wouldn't have the intelligence to free her. But his worst fears were confirmed the moment he entered the room and saw the empty chair. Cursing himself for not keeping a guard with her, he turned and ran out the door, eager to get his hands on the Doctor and his hand.

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The Doctor paused a moment in the shadows to rest. They got in back of a pipe and Rose glanced around to make sure no one was near. John got out of his pocket and went to the edge of the shadows, keeping watch. Rose stayed near him, worried that he was panting so heavily. She wasn't used to him being so frail and it frightened her to see him in this state. She was worried he might have a heart attack and she laid her hand against his cheek.

"Doctor, are you going to be alright?" she asked.

The Doctor gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand.

"I'll be fine, Rose. I promise I won't die on you," he said.

"We have to find a way to reverse this, is there a way to reverse this?" she asked him.

"There is a way. At least I hope it'll work," he replied. "But…there's something I need to tell you."

"Yes?"

The Doctor sighed.

"Rose, I don't know if you know this but the world has been devastated. The Master brought these creatures from the future, these Toclafane. They rampaged all over the Earth and killed one tenth of the population."

"Oh God," Rose said.

The Doctor nodded.

"He was able to bring them here because he made a paradox machine from my TARDIS. The machine allows the Toclafane to exist here even though they've killed their potential ancestors. The machine makes the impossible possible and that's what allowed him to bring you here even though the void was sealed. If I destroy the paradox machine, the Toclafane will go back to the end of the universe, time will reverse and the damage will be undone. But if I do that, it means you'll go back as well."

Rose's eyes widened when the Doctor's words sank in.

"No, I can't. I don't want to. I've been trying to get back to you again, I can't go back!" she said, clutching his arm.

"Rose, if I keep you here, then millions of people will remain dead and the world will be in ruins," the Doctor said. "I can't do that. I can't let the Earth suffer so I can keep you with me."

He cupped her face with his hands while a lump formed in his throat.

"I can't be selfish, Rose, and neither can you," he managed to get out. "We have to undo what the Master did and bring the Earth back to the way it was."

He wiped away her tear with the pad of his thumb.

"Will I remember this?" Rose said in a shaky voice.

"I don't know. I doubt it though. Once time is reversed, all these events will be wiped from existence and no one will remember anything, including you."

He embraced her when Rose began to sob softly. He closed his eyes and rubbed her back, fighting the urge to take back what he said and keep her with him. John watched in an anguished silence, knowing that the Doctor was right but not willing to give up so easily. He was willing to search for a solution, he knew there had to be a way to restore what had happened and keep Rose here with them, they just had to put their heads together and think of something. He watched while the Doctor soothed Rose and wiped her tears away.

"We can't do this here, Rose," he said gently. "Our lives are in danger. We need to move on and find a way to escape."

Rose nodded. The Doctor turned to go and Rose took his hand.

"Wait," she whispered when he turned back to her with a quizzical look on his face. "If…if I won't remember this, then it's okay to do this…"

Without warning, Rose leaned in and kissed him on the lips. The Doctor was shocked for a few seconds and then he sighed as he returned the kiss. Rose's hand went up to the back of his head and ran down it, fingering the wispy strands of hair that were left while the Doctor held her tightly and continued to snog her. John continued to keep watch just in case someone was around and when he heard someone getting closer, he reluctantly snapped his fingers to get their attention. They broke apart and sank back into the shadows, listening for a moment to the voices. When they figured out the people were going away from them, the Doctor took Rose's hand and all three of them hurried away.

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The Doctor cursed silently when they made their way back to Jack and noticed two guards flanking him.

"Oh God, poor Jack," Rose whispered.

"We have to find a way to set him free," the Doctor whispered back.

His eyes shifted down when John slowly made his way towards them.

"That's one brave hand you have," Rose whispered.

"Tell me about it," the Doctor whispered back.

The guard on the left sighed as he loosely held his gun and looked around.

"I'm hungry," he said to his friend. "I feel like eating a nice big pizza right about now."

"Same here or a burger. This is boring."

"Well, I'm sorry I'm inconveniencing you," Jack said to them. "How about taking me to the toilet now before my bladder explodes. That way you can have a bit of excitement in your hum-drum day."

"Shut up!" the guard on the left said.

"Just a suggestion," Jack muttered.

His eyes bulged when he suddenly saw a hand walking on its fingers. His mouth dropped open when he recognized the hand as the Doctor's hand.

"What the hell?" he said.

He could see the guards were just as shocked as he was.

"Um, Frank, you see a walking hand or is it just me?" the guard on the left said.

"I see it, Ben," Frank said.

John stopped, flipped onto his wrist and waved at them. Then he flipped back on his fingers and began to dance around. The guards and Jack watched with fascination as John danced around. John quickly turned around and wiggled his wrist as if it were a butt before going back to the dance.

"There's something you don't see everyday," Ben said.

"Isn't the hand Saxon had?" Frank added while John continued to dance.

"No, it's my hand, the Master stole it from me," Jack said. "Although I had no idea it was alive. I wonder how that happened, maybe the solution it was in brought it to life?"

The three of them continued to watch while John danced his way over to Frank. Frank grinned and chuckled when the hand danced around in front of him.

"Cute little thing," he said.

Suddenly without warning, John went under his legs, leapt up and squeezed his balls as hard as he could. Frank gasped and tried to smack him off as he fought through the pain. But the harder he smacked the hand, the tighter John's grip became. Through the haze of pain, Frank saw Ben standing there in shock.

"Don't just stand there, do something!" he gasped out.

"What? What do I do?"

"I don't know, shoot the thing!" Frank groaned.

His eyes bulged when Ben raised his gun and aimed right for his crotch.

"NOT WHEN HE'S GOT A HOLD OF MY TESTICLES, YOU IDIOT! GET HIM OFF ME AND THEN SHOOT!" Frank screamed.

Jack rolled his eyes as he watched Ben drop the gun, get down on his knees and try to pull him off. Frank howled in pain when John held on to his balls and he staggered to the post Jack's chain was attached to.

"Not like that! Try something else. Something that won't hurt me!" he groaned at him.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, think of something!" Frank gasped out while he slapped at John.

Suddenly, Ben felt something on the back of his head. He turned and gasped when he saw Rose holding the barrel of his gun to his head.

"Stand up nice and slow," she said.

Frank gasped when John let go and quickly ran over beside her. He fell to his knees holding his crotch while Ben put his hands up. The Doctor came out of hiding and walked up beside her.

"Free him or else," the Doctor said, pointing to Jack.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After knocking out the guards, Jack joined the other three while they searched for Martha's family.

"Oh God, my arms are so numb, I don't think I'll ever get the feeling back," Jack groaned, rubbing his arms while they hurried down a corridor.

He glanced at John who was running beside them.

"Okay, could someone explain to me how that thing is alive?" he said to the Doctor and Rose.

"His name is John and we'll explain later," the Doctor said, looking back over his shoulder.

"John…oooookay," Jack said.

He stared at John while they ran.

"Um, you weren't alive when I stuck you in the jar, were you?" he asked him.

John briefly flipped onto his wrist, nodded his hand and then flipped him off before he flipped back on his fingers and hurried after the Doctor and Rose. Jack followed them.

"Gee, I think I know who slapped my ass and put salt in my coffee that one day," he muttered as they ran.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

After several minutes, the little band stopped and let the Doctor rest.

"Bollocks, I want my youth back," the Doctor panted while Rose rubbed his back.

Jack shook his head.

"We can't keep doing this. The guards are gonna catch up to us eventually. I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not as fast as you used to be."

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know," the Doctor said. "I'm trying to go as fast as I can but…"

He trailed off when Jack came over to his side.

"What are you doing?" he said.

"Lie down on the ground," Jack said, pointing to his feet.

"Why?"

"Just lie down; we don't have time for an explanation."

The Doctor glanced at Rose. She helped him down onto the floor. Once he was there, he folded his hands over his chest.

"Okay, Jack, I'm down here, now wha…"

He gasped when Jack bent down and gathered him up in his arms.

"Jack, put me down!" the Doctor said. "I'm not that infirm."

"Doc, you're slow, let's face it. We need to go faster and we can't stop every few minutes and wait for you to catch your breath. Just relax; I know what I'm doing."

The Doctor eyed him.

"Two things, keep your hand off my arse and don't you dare tell anyone I was in your arms," he said.

"Yeah," Jack muttered. "Anyway, come on, Rose, let's move."

Rose bent down, picked up John and followed Jack as he ran with the Doctor in his arms. The Doctor sighed.

"If there is a God, please I'm begging you not to let the Master catch me in Jack's arms because I know I'll never hear the end of it from him," he said, his eyes skyward.

Jack and Rose ran down the corridor and found a set of stairs. They went up slowly, trying to be aware of their surroundings. They checked the hallway when they got to the top and then ran down it.

"Actually, this is quite pleasant having someone else do the running for a change," the Doctor muttered as they ran.

"Yeah, well don't get too comfortable, Doc," Jack replied.

"Really? I'm surprised that came out of your mouth just now," the Doctor said.

They passed by an open door and the Doctor stopped Jack and made them both go back. They went in and the Doctor told Jack to put him down. They were in the Master's office. John noticed the jar in the corner and shivered at the thought of being put back in it. The Doctor walked over to the desk and Rose followed him. There was a stack of papers on his desk and the Doctor quickly read through them.

"Work orders, execution orders, reports on Martha's possible whereabouts," he said to the others as he skimmed the papers.

He paused at one sheet of paper and read through it, puzzled.

"What is it, Doctor?" Rose said, nearing his side.

"List of planets," the Doctor said.

He turned the sheet over to see if it had any helpful information but there was none. He turned it back over and studied it.

"Most of these planets are near Earth," he muttered. "What does it mean though? Gotta mean something."

He picked up another sheet of paper and read it.

"This is an order for more materials, parts for something," the Doctor said to Rose. "Whatever it is, the Master needs a lot of metal. He's building something and I'm sure it's connected to this list of planets here."

He picked up another sheet and read through it.

"Report on the activities of the resistance," he said.

He smiled.

"Good, nice to know not everyone is completely under his influence then," he said. "One thing can be said about humans, it's very hard to completely kill your spirits. And according to this, there is enough of a resistance for the Master to be concerned and apparently Martha is helping to fan the flames of rebellion. Good. I was hoping that would happen when she was out there."

The Doctor opened his top desk drawer and grinned when he found his sonic screwdriver and psychic paper. He picked them up and put them in his pocket.

"Good, I was hoping to get my hands on my things again," he said. "Now we have more of an advantage."

"Doc, the paradox machine should be nearby. If we destroy it now."

The Doctor held up his hand.

"Not yet. I need more time. Martha needs to complete her mission."

"What mission? What did you tell her?" Jack asked.

"Yes, please enlighten us."

They turned and saw the Master standing in the doorway with two armed guards.

"I figured you might return here eventually, especially since I had your things," the Master said, coming inside the room while the guards stood by the doorway. "I should have given you senility along with your ancient body. Then perhaps you wouldn' t have tried to defy me."

"Let them go, Master," the Doctor said, stepping in front of his friends. "It's me you want."

"And have them join Martha and the so-called resistance? What kind of fool do you take me for? You are all my prisoners and you will all obey me, including the magical moving hand. Where is the little bugger?"

John was hiding behind Rose's body. She kept her legs together while Jack and the Doctor stood in front of her.

"Come now, where is the hand at? I know its with you," the Master said. "And if I have to torture you all to find out where it is, I will."

John came around Rose.

"No, John," Rose hissed.

John ignored her. It scurried up to the Doctor's feet and stood there. The Master stared at it.

"Care to tell me how your hand came to life?" he asked the Doctor.

The Doctor shrugged.

"No matter, I'll run tests on it and find out for myself," the Master said. "What matters is the little troublemaking body part is out of commission. Now, all of you put up your hands and…"

The Master was cut off in mid-sentence when John sprang up and put a fist in his crotch. Jack let out a triumphant yell as the Master sucked in air, grabbed his crotch and fell to his knees. All of them dived out of the way when the guards came inside and began to shoot.

"NOT HERE, YOU IMBECILES! DON'T SHOOT WHEN I'M IN THE SODDING ROOM!" the Master screamed at them.

Jack and Rose ran towards the guards while John ran towards the Master. Both John and Rose dodged the guard's guns when they tried to hit them with the butts and punched them out. In the meantime, the Master had staggered to his feet and was trying to step on John while he darted in and out of his legs. He let out an enraged yell when John got behind him, leapt up and pinched his butt before he ducked under a table. The Master stopped short and ducked when Jack took a swing at him. He turned and let out a grunt when Rose punched him in the face.

"That's for aging the Doctor!" she yelled at him.

She punched him again and the Master staggered back. He saw Jack and the Doctor about to join her and he quickly ran out of the room calling for the guards to capture them. The Doctor bent down, put John in his pocket and grunted when Jack snatched him up in his arms and held him close to his body.

"I'll be so glad when I become young again," he growled as Jack and Rose ran out of the room before the guards could capture them.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Jack and Rose ran down the hallway as klaxons rang out. Jack was now visibly tired as he carried his aged friend.

"I know you're skinny, Doc, but I'm starting to feel your weight now," he gasped as they ran.

"Well, I would tell you to put me down but at the moment I don't think that's a wise idea," the Doctor replied.

They listened while they ran, gauging the distance of the guards from their frantic voices that echoed down the corridor. So far, they seemed far away but they kept their eyes peeled for any surprises.

Then they rounded a corner and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw a guard a few feet in front of them. He was holding a semi automatic pistol in his hand. Jack was about to knock him out when he waved at them.

"Hello," the guard said.

Jack stared at him.

"Hi," he said warily.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Jack said, still wary.

"My name's Anthony. Normally, I'm a janitor here and I was mopping the floor when someone ran up to me, shoved this gun in my hand and told me to kill the Doctor. Do you know who that is?"

"Um…no," Jack said.

"Nope," Rose said, shaking her head.

"Damn. I was hoping you'd know. See, I'm just a janitor and I don't know what goes on half the time because I'm busy mopping and cleaning so I have no idea who this doctor is. I tried to ask the chap who gave me the gun but he ran off. He didn't even give me the guy's name, just doctor. So I was hoping you'd know who he or she was."

"Nope, haven't a clue," Jack said, shrugging.

Anthony stared at the Doctor who had an embarrassed look on his face.

"Why are you carrying him?" he asked Jack while he pointed to the Doctor.

"This is my grandpa. He's paralyzed and wet himself and I need to take him to the shower to clean him up."

The Doctor glared at Jack but he ignored it. He half expected Anthony to say something to that but to his surprise, he believed him and nodded.

"Well, I'll leave you to your task. I need to go to the cupboard and get some disinfectant so I can go back to cleaning if this hunt for this doctor ends. I don't want Mister Saxon mad at me because I'm standing around doing nothing."

"Yeah, I don't blame you. I know what it's like to make Mister Saxon mad," Jack muttered.

"Me too," the Doctor muttered.

Anthony nodded and turned to leave. Jack suddenly had a brainstorm.

"Hey, Anthony. Mind if we come with you. I need to get some bleach. I'm sure my grandpa will urinate and shit everywhere in the shower and I need to sterilize it after I'm done cleaning him up."

Jack coughed nervously and Rose bit her lip when the Doctor gave him a look of death. Anthony shrugged.

"Sure, follow me. I'll take you to it."

"Thanks, Anthony," Jack said, smiling.

While they walked, John got Rose's attention while she held him by his wrist.

_What a moron,_ he signed to her.

She nodded.

They followed him down a couple of hallways. Each time they were terrified that they'd run into a guard but to their relief, they reached the supply closet without being seen. They waited patiently while Anthony unlocked the door, went inside and came out with a bottle of disinfectant.

"There ya go, just lock the door when you're done using it."

"We will, thanks," Jack said.

They waved at him when he gave them all a cheerful wave and waited until he rounded the corner before going inside and shutting the door. Once inside, Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close. And now that we're here, we can use the chemicals on the guards and throw it in their faces if they attack."

He paused and thought.

"Except for Anthony. We won't throw chemicals in Anthony's face. He was nice," Jack said.

He grabbed a large bottle of bleach and the Doctor grabbed a can of solvent. Rose looked around and grabbed a spray bottle of bleach. Once they were armed, Jack opened the door and the three of them headed out. The Doctor ran with them since Jack had the bottle and he kept his guard up while he kept the can of solvent ready for use. They ran for several minutes and then they saw it. They rounded a corner and saw an escape pod at the end of a short hallway.

"At last!" Jack said as they ran.

They reached the pod and the Doctor used a keyboard mounted in the wall to open the outer door and the door of the pod. To their dismay, the pod was tiny.

"Damn, we're gonna have to sit on top of each other in order to escape," he said.

The Doctor shook his head.

"No, it's too small. Only one can fit in it."

He looked around when he heard guards coming closer.

"Rose, get in," he said, gesturing to the pod.

"You what?" Rose said.

"Get in, you're going. You and John," the Doctor said.

"No way. I'm not going without ya," Rose said.

"Rose, you've got to. We can't all fit in it and this is a chance for one of us to escape. I'd rather see you escape than be back in the torture chamber."

"Same here. Get in, Rose," Jack said.

"But…"

The Doctor sighed.

"Rose, I'll be alright. The Master wants me alive. Otherwise, I'd be dead by now. Jack can't die so he'll be alright."

Rose was taken aback.

"What d'ya mean you can't die?" she said to Jack.

"We don't have time for explanations. Just get in. I'll explain it when I see you again," the Doctor said.

Rose swallowed hard.

"Doctor…"

"Please, Rose, I'm begging you, get in," the Doctor implored.

Rose hesitated a moment and then gave him a kiss on the lips. Jack raised his eyebrow and smiled when the Doctor sighed and returned it. They kissed for twenty seconds and then touched foreheads for another ten before Rose reluctantly got in the pod with John. He lay on her leg while she strapped herself into the seat. The Doctor stroked her cheek briefly and then smiled at John.

"Take care of her, little friend."

John gave him the thumbs up and the Doctor patted his back before he turned back to the keyboard. Rose watched in sorrow as the Doctor used it to seal the pod door and then the outer door. Then he quickly punched in a command and the pod sailed away into the sky towards the Earth. At that moment, they heard a man yell and knew the guards had found them.

"Stop! Put your hands up or we'll shoot!" the guard yelled at them.

"Rose is away from here, that's what matters," the Doctor murmured to Jack.

"Yeah and I hope she stays out of the Master's reach like Martha's been able to do," Jack muttered back.

"I said get your hands up and turn around or we'll open fire."

Both men glanced at each other. They put their hands up, turned around and waited patiently while the four guards moved in to capture them.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Once the escape pod hit the ground, the door opened and Rose stumbled out with John. She looked around while she held him close to her body. She was horrified beyond belief at the sight that met her eyes. The Doctor had mentioned the Toclafane devastating the world but she didn't realize how extensive the damage was until she could see it for herself.

"Oh God, John…look at it," she said, stepping towards what was left of London. "It's hard to believe anyone's alive in there."

John had to agree with that. He ached while he stared at the ruins and silently cursed the Master for what he did to Earth.

Rose forced herself to move towards the city knowing that any moment the Master could send someone to fetch her and John. It took them about an hour before they made it into the city and despite the danger, Rose slowed her pace and took in every crumbling building, every dead tree, every ounce of devastation of the city she used to call home. Her heart raced wondering if any of her friends were still alive. She entertained the idea of going to find them and then decided it would be a waste of time. She needed to find a way to get help and get back to the Valiant so she could help the Doctor and Jack. She moved deeper towards the heart of London and noticed a few humans now and then. All of them looked at her warily. She noticed the dirty clothes they were wearing and realized they must be looking at her clean clothes and body and thinking she was one of the Master's cronies. Anger burned in her mind looking at the hopeless looks on their faces and the pitiful conditions they were living in. She had a thought when she saw a blond haired woman and her child standing in the doorway of a bombed out house. The woman was in her twenties but she looked older than that with her haggard face. The boy with her was about five with dirty blonde hair, thin face and green eyes. Both of them looked like they hadn't had much to eat. Rose put John inside her jacket before she approached them. She smiled warmly at them when they backed up slightly.

"Hi, my name's Rose Tyler. You don't have to be afraid, I'm not with the Master," she said, gently. "He kidnapped me and I escaped but my friends are still his captives. I wanted to know if you've heard about a Martha? She's s'posed to be walking around the world talking about the Doctor."

"Martha Jones?" the woman said.

"I s'pose. I didn't learn her last name. But has Martha been here?" Rose said.

The woman glanced around.

"Come inside, Rose. It's not safe for us to talk out here," she said.

Rose nodded and followed her and the boy into the house.

"Ian, go to your room for the moment," the woman said to her son.

Ian nodded and ran upstairs while the woman took Rose into the kitchen.

"There are spies everywhere searching for Martha," the woman said while she opened a cabinet and took some tea down. "I'm trusting that you're not one of them."

"I'm not, I swear," Rose said.

The woman nodded.

"Name's Angela. That was my son, Ian. I used to have a husband, Thomas, but he…died during the first assault a month ago."

"I'm sorry," Rose said softly.

Angela took a battered teakettle, filled it with water and put it on the burner. After she turned it on, she gestured to an old wooden table and Rose sat down. Angela sat down across from her.

"Martha came here about a month ago, shortly after the attacks," Angela said. "She had just started her mission and we hid her here and gave her shelter and food before she left. In return, she gathered together most of the survivors that live around here and called them into the house to talk about the Doctor."

"What did she say about him?" Rose said intrigued.

"She told us stories about him, adventures she'd had with him and told us about his bravery and selflessness. Told us that he'd been watching over our planet for centuries and defending it against alien invaders. Then when she was finished telling us about the Doctor, she gave us an instruction he gave to her."

"What sort of instruction?" Rose said.

"In eleven months time, at a certain time of day, me and everyone else in the world are supposed to call out the Doctor's name as one," she said.

Rose frowned.

"Why?"

"I don't know, love. Martha didn't know. That's all the Doctor said to her," Angela said.

John listened quietly inside Rose's jacket. He was just as puzzled as Rose was and just as intrigued. He wished the Doctor was with them to fill them in on what his full plan was.

"He said he couldn't send the Toclafane back yet because he needed more time," Rose finally said to Angela. "But…a year…he needs that long?"

Angela shrugged.

"Don't ask me, Rose. Martha just told us to call out the Doctor's name at the correct time and that's what we're going to do."

"You are?" Rose said.

Angela nodded.

"I never used to believe in aliens. But then a few years ago that spaceship crashed into the Thames. You remember, yeah?"

A slight smile crossed Rose's face as she nodded. She glanced over when the kettle whistled. She waited while Angela made their tea and put the cups in front of them. Angela took a sip before continuing.

"Since then, there have been so many strange things that have happened. That robot invasion that happened a year ago and then that weird Christmas star in the sky that started killing people and the hospital that went to the moon. Martha said she was in there when it happened and that's when she met the Doctor for the first time."

Rose wondered about the last two events. She longed to ask for more details but she decided to let Angela speak and tell her what she wanted to say.

"And now this, so yeah, I'm now a firm believer in aliens. And that's why I was able to accept this Doctor. Nice to know that not all aliens are out to get us."

Rose smiled and nodded.

"Has Martha spoken to you as well?" Angela asked. "I've never seen you before."

"Actually, I also traveled with the Doctor. Before Martha did."

Angela leaned forward, an eager expression on her face.

"So you're doing it as well? You're also following the Doctor's instructions and spreading the word?"

Rose thought for a moment.

"Well…he didn't tell me to do that but if it saves the Earth, I'll do anything."

"Well I know she was making her way towards Paris and onto the mainland," Angela said. "It hasn't been that long and she was on foot. You might be able to catch up to her."

"Yeah, I think I'll do that," Rose said, nodding. "Could you tell me the complete instruction though? The Doctor never told me."

Angela repeated what Martha had said to her and both Rose and John committed it to memory. After that, they sipped their tea for awhile and Rose told her about a couple of her adventures with the Doctor while Angela listened spellbound. When she was just about to leave, Angela stopped her.

"Here, love, I have a rucksack you can have and I'll give you some food and clothes. It won't be much but it's a start."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Rose said.

"Just let me fetch it."

Rose nodded. She sat at the table and finished her tea while Angela hurried away.

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After saying her goodbyes to Angela and Ian, Rose set out again. She walked for about five miles, keeping to the buildings in case the Toclafane were around. When the sun started to sink into the sky, she found an abandoned warehouse and slipped inside it. She walked to the center of it, away from any windows and sank down to the ground. John wriggled out of her jacket and walked a few feet away from her, looking all around for any signs of life. While he was doing that, he heard soft sobbing and turned to see Rose was crying softly. He walked back to her and she picked him up, holding him close to her body while tears ran down her cheeks.

"Oh John, I never should have left him. What are they doing to him and to Jack right now?" she said.

John patted her chest, trying to soothe her. Rose used her right hand to wipe the tears away from her cheeks. John wriggled out of her grasp, walked in front of her and in the dying of the light turned onto his wrist.

_They'll be alright, Rose, you have to believe that,_ he signed to her.

Rose nodded.

"I know this isn't the first time the Doctor's been tortured but I'm so scared for him. He's so old now and we saw how frail he is and…"

She trailed off, too terrified to say anything. She brought her legs up to her chest while John watched quietly.

"If Martha is on this mission then I want to help her, but I'm nervous about going away from the Valiant. I don't want to come back and find him dead. And…in a way, I'm afraid to help because I know if everything goes back to normal, I go back too. And I know it's selfish to want to stay here with him but damn it, this is what I've been hoping and praying for since we parted and I can't believe that after I finally realize my dream, it's going to be ruined. I don't want to leave him, John. I want to be with him even if it means never seeing mum or dad or Tony again."

Rose sobbed at that and ran her fingers under her nose, wiping away the snot. John tapped her leg and she looked at him.

_There might be a way,_ he signed to her. _I don't have an idea yet but there's got to be a way to keep you here. I won't give up if you won't. _

Rose sobbed and a tear ran down her cheek. She picked up John and kissed his index finger. She kissed it again and then held him close to her chest.

"I love you, John. I'm glad you came down here with me. If I have to do this for the Doctor, it'll be easier to bear all the hardship if you're here with me."

John patted her chest lovingly. Rose put him down. She put her rucksack under her head, stretched out her legs and lay on her side. John came to her side and lay down and Rose put her hand on top of his back while she stared at the wall. She stayed like that for about an hour before her eyelids grew heavy. She closed them and with a sigh, fell into an exhausted sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

The Doctor grunted when the Master decked him in the face. He was strapped to the chair in the torture chamber and across the way Jack was naked, standing up with his manacled hands above his head. The Master hadn't touched him yet, only made him watch as he roughed up the Doctor.

"I will not be made a fool of," the Master growled at the battered, bruised and bleeding Doctor. "I will not have an old geezer or a freak outwit me! I have been fairly kind to both of you thus far but now the white gloves are coming off and I will torture you day in and day out to the point of death!"

He snapped his head around at Jack.

"And you…you're going past the point of death, naturally," he said, walking over to him. "I'm gonna kill you so often you'll think it strange when I give you a break and let you live. I have had it with you as well and you know what, that little team of yours. I'm thinking I oughta relay another message to them and lead them right here. How would you like it if they shared the chair with the Doctor here?"

"Leave them alone," Jack snarled.

"Then again, they may be dead already so I might not have to expend any energy looking for them. I'm sure the Toclafane covered the Himalayas along with everything else."

He smirked when he saw the pain in Jack's eyes.

"Did they mean something to you? So sorry then. I should have brought them on board with everyone else so they could keep you company. I was so busy conquering the whole world it slipped my mind. Oh well, least you have Grandpa Geezer here to amuse you."

He turned back to the Doctor.

"And…oh yes, we were in the middle of something, weren't we?"

The Doctor grunted when he stomped over and slammed his fist into his face. He made a pained face as he shook his hand.

"Oh, that hurt. You have a bony face this time around. It's hell on my hand. I need to fetch a boxing glove or something. But I'll ignore the pain since you obviously need to be punished. Now, I s'pose it'll be an enormous waste of time to ask you where Rose went. I'm guessing London but I'm sure you sent her on an errand just like you did with Jones. So I'll skip the whole interrogation process, it bores me anyway, and just skip to the heavy torture session."

"No, torture me, not him!" Jack said.

"All in due time, Pretty Boy," he said, glancing over his shoulder at him. "Now…let's begin since I'm just aching to hear you scream…"

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John only slept for part of the night. He was nervous about something happening to Rose so he woke, slowly slid out from under Rose's hand and went on patrol. He stayed near her so he could keep watch over her but he kept alert for any strange sound or anything out of the ordinary. While he was doing that, he heard Rose whimper and turned to see her having a nightmare. He ran to her side and lay so that his hand was across her cheek. Rose's face was scrunched up and she was whimpering softly and crying. He could see her unconsciously extend her arm and grab something. He watched what she was doing for a moment, wondering what she was dreaming about. He guessed from the trauma on her face that it had something to do with the Doctor and he debated whether or not to wake her up. But there was no need because a moment later her eyes snapped open and she looked around as John got his hand off her face. She noticed him and began to cry softly as she gathered him close to her.

"Thank God you're here," she said softly. "I had a dream, a nightmare, 'bout Canary Wharf and the day I lost the Doctor. I was relieving it in my mind all over again."

She stroked John's back while he rubbed her chest.

"You were off his hand by then but it was the most horrible day of my life," Rose said to him. "The Beast told me I would die in battle and he meant I would be counted as dead in the original universe but I think he also meant I would die from the separation. So I died two deaths really. And now I might have to die a third when I go back to my original universe."

John wiggled out of her hand and went over into a shaft of moonlight so he could sign to her.

_I told you not to worry about that,_ he signed. _We'll find a way for you to stay here. I don't want to see you leave either._

"Yes, but what if you can't find a way?" Rose asked. "What if I have to go back and…"

She shut up when John suddenly jabbed his finger off towards the right.

"_Hide!_ he signed quickly before he went to join her in the shadows. Rose flattened against the cold concrete and tried to breathe softly as a lone Toclafane suddenly came into the room. Both of them lay perfectly still while the ball slowly flew through the room. Rose's heart was pounding a mile a minute and she thought the thing would be able to hear it. It moved agonizingly slow and Rose was sure it would be able to see them and kill both her and John but to her relief the Toclafane moved past and eventually moved out of the room. Rose swallowed hard trying to wet her dry throat.

"Was that a Toclafane?" she whispered to John.

John didn't answer her since he was afraid to move like she was. Both of them stayed in their hiding spot waiting and watching for the Toclafane to come back or for another one to come by. They stayed that way for about a half hour before both of them got up enough courage to move back towards the moonlight. Only then did John answer her.

_I don't know,_ he signed to her. _But I bet it is._

"I s'pose we know what to watch out for now, yeah?" Rose whispered.

_Unless there's something else,_ John signed back.

"God, I hope not. Bad enough keeping an eye out for those things, Rose whispered.

John came back over to her and lay down beside her. He patted her hand trying to reassure her everything would be alright so she would go back to sleep but Rose was too nervous to sleep. After awhile, the jitters got to her and she began to pace around the room, slowly walking while John followed along behind her and kept an eye out for any more Toclafane. Rose slowly made her way over towards the huge factory windows at the front of the building. Some of them had been shattered and cracked but there were a few that were still intact, however those were dirty and hard to see through and disturbingly she could make out traces of dried blood on some of them. She moved quickly past those, trying not to think of what might have happened to cause the blood to splatter on the windows. As she walked, her heart sank at the view. There were a few other warehouses and buildings blocking the view but at a couple of points the buildings had been leveled enough for her to see past to Big Ben in the distance. As before with the Slitheen, the Master or the Toclafane had blasted a big hole in the clock and Rose couldn't help but think with a dark sense of humor that the London taxpayers were probably fed up with having to replace the clock every few years now. While she was looking she felt John tug at her trouser leg and she bent down to pick him up. She placed him on a ledge by a broken window so he could see out with her.

"All of this will go back to the way it was if the Doctor can reverse it," she said to John. "Everything will be restored and everyone will forget what happened, including me."

She held up her hand when John turned around.

"I know, I know, you said not to worry but still…until we do find a way, I am gonna worry," she said.

She sighed and stroked his back.

"And this is what we're going to be going out into. This ruined city is what we have to cross and beyond that are probably more ruined cities and countries and more people like Angela and Ian."

She let out a mirthless laugh.

"Not back a day and already I'm back on the job," she said. "Life with the Doctor never changes."

She sighed.

"Still, I'll do it for him. I'll do anything for him, even die," she murmured to herself.

John stared at her, remaining silent while he listened to her musings. He could tell she was lost in her thoughts now as she gazed out at the devastated skyline of London. After several minutes, she finally focused her attention back on John.

"Do ya think we can do it?" she asked him. "Walk the Earth. Is it possible?"

John considered that.

_I think anything's possible, Rose. We just have to take this one day at a time,_ he signed.

Rose nodded and sighed deeply as she picked him up.

"I s'pose we should get started then. We need the dark to hide from the Toclafane and it'll be less stressful traveling when it's cool."

She held John close to her heart while she walked back over to her rucksack so she and John could prepare to leave for the great unknown.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Rose glanced around nervously while she walked down the darkened London streets. John rode on her shoulder, keeping himself ready just in case someone tried to hurt her. She was walking through the safer part of the city or it used to be the safer part before the Master came along. Now it was filled with transients, trash and bombed out buildings. Rose kept her eyes looking straight ahead, trying to ignore the leers and crude remarks of the homeless men who were warming themselves by fires that were blazing in oil drums and trash receptacles. John was riding on her left shoulder so he was not immediately visible to the men who stared at the newcomer with barely contained lust. A few men staggered around, visibly drunk, and they made Rose even more nervous since they had even less self-control than the vagrants around the fires.

"Hey, doll, where ya goin' at this time of night?" A filthy homeless man slurred the moment he spied her. "Pretty girl like you shouldn't be out here. Come home with me and I'll keep ya warm."

"No thanks," Rose muttered.

She gasped when the man stepped in her path and glared at her with red rimmed eyes.

"What's wrong, bitch? I'm not good enough for ya?" he snarled. "You got a problem with shaggin' me?"

Rose noticed him reaching into his pocket and she imagined him pulling out a knife. Just then, John launched himself off her shoulder and punched him in the face. The drunk staggered back and John hit him directly in the balls. As he fell to his knees, Rose quickly ran around him and followed John to a darkened alley. She slumped against the left wall, letting her heart calm back down to its normal rhythm while John kept watch for any pursuers.

"This is gonna be harder than it looks," Rose said. "If we're not hiding from the Toclafane we have to fend off drunken men and tramps. I don't know if I can do this."

_You can do it. I have faith in you,_ John signed to her.

Rose reached down and patted his back.

"Thanks for saving my life back there," she said.

John patted her hand. He was elated when Rose picked him up and gave him a kiss on the index finger. Rose held him close while she calmed down and he vaguely wondered if she was beginning to love him more than the Doctor. Secretly, he hoped so. He knew he was once a part of him but now he was his own body part and he was entitled to love Rose just as much as his former owner. He thought back to the dream where he was standing on the beach with Rose as a full man and he shivered with delight at the thought of that coming true. He longed to have lips just so he could taste her skin and have a face she could caress as well as a body she could use during lovemaking. It gave him such a thrill thinking of it that for a moment he didn't realize that Rose was on the move again. John put away the thoughts of being a full person for the moment and concentrated once again on being her protector.

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They walked for the rest of the night keeping to the shadows. There were a few more Toclafane sightings as well as a few more horny drunks to contend with but both of them made it through their first night unscathed and in the morning, Rose found a bench that she could sleep on. She started to put John inside her jacket but he shook his hand.

_I'll keep watch,_ he signed.

Rose nodded. She kissed his finger, zipped her jacket up to her neck and with a sigh lifted her aching feet, put her arm underneath her head and lay on her side staring out at the rising sun. Occasionally she'd hear a noise and lift her head up trying to find its source but eventually she relaxed enough that she was able to close her eyes and finally drift off to sleep.

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The Doctor gasped and held his aching side while he lay inside his tent. The Master had worked him over almost to the point of passing out but he held back so he wouldn't have the mercy of falling into the darkness. Instead, he was forced to sit and watch while the Master killed Jack six different times in six different ways. Everything from stabbing to shooting to using a small hand axe to chop his head off, any twisted idea the Master had he acted upon until he finally grew tired of watching Jack come back to life. Only then did he allow the guards to take him back to his tent to rest and it was there that his thoughts turned to Rose. He hoped she was safe. He figured it must have been a shock for her to see what had happened to London. She didn't have a perception filter like Martha did and his stomach churned thinking of the metal balls finding her and chopping her to bits. He had witnessed that one day. A guard named James had taken pity on him and began to personally care for him. He seemed to be more lucid than the others so the Doctor surmised he had managed to break part of the Master's hold on his mind. James made sure every day that he had enough to eat and had taken him to the bathroom. He also spend some time with him and he learned that he lived in Cornwall and had a wife, two boys and a girl. The Doctor enjoyed his company immensely and his visits were the highlight of his otherwise crappy day. But the Master got wind of what he was doing and began to get suspicious, thinking that James was secretly trying to help him. So one day he waited until James came for a visit and had the guards block the doors while he set two Toclanfane on him. The Doctor felt bile rise in his throat when he recalled that innocent man being sliced and diced and hacked to bits in front of him, all the while screaming in agony and crying out for mercy to his unconcerned boss. It filled him with all-consuming rage knowing the poor man suffered and died because he had shown him a bit of kindness and mercy. He knew that the same thing had happened to Jack once. The Master gleefully informed him of that and he held no illusions that Rose would be safe from a Toclafane attack even if the Master had been the one to bring her over. He guessed the Master had already told his minions to keep an eye out for her and for John and either capture or kill them on sight and rage flooded his mind knowing his love had been thrown into the middle of this hell his adversary had created. Ever more tormenting was the fact that once he restored everything he would have to watch as she disappeared from his sight, just like before. He nearly went mad with grief and loneliness the first time he lost her. He wasn't sure if he could stand losing her again.

_There's got to be a way to keep her here_, he thought to himself. _There's just got to be. I won't let the universe cheat me again. I will find a way even if it kills me. _

Guilt plagued his mind the moment he thought of that. Rose had her mum and dad and sibling and Mickey in the other universe and he was thinking up ways to separate her from them.

_I made my decision a long time ago and I'm never gonna leave ya._

He swallowed hard when Rose's voice echoed in his mind. Those words that both thrilled and terrified him. On one hand he wanted more than anything to keep her at his side but…she would grow old, infirm. He'd have to watch that beautiful blonde hair grow grey and then turn white, see her beautiful face become lined, her sight become weaker, her gait become slower. He'd have to watch while she deteriorated in front of his eyes and become more and more dependent on him for help. Have to watch while she slowly lost the strength to run at his side and then…

The Doctor swallowed hard as he pushed the image of Rose dying in his arms out of his head. That thought terrified him more than anything the Master could do. The love of his life breathing her last and leaving him alone forever. Knowing that forever more he'd be tempted to go back along her timeline just for another glance at her in her youth. Perhaps even do something drastic like try to solve the skasis paradigm to change her into a time lady. That also scared him because he knew if he succeeded, he might not stop there. He might bring back all his companions and make them immortal so he would never be alone, then he might change other things, bring back Gallifrey and his people, make the universe a better, more ordered, friendlier place and ultimately that path would lead straight to the greatest terror of all, the transformation into the Valeyard. The Doctor shook his head. He knew he couldn't let that happen. He had to stick to his original idea and send Rose back. Once she was out of sight, the temptation to do all those things would be gone and he could do what he always did, push forward and move on to the next thing in his life as if nothing happened. Thinking of denying himself Rose's love caused a tear to trickle down his cheek and he cursed himself for being a fool and falling in love with her. He had always kept his companions at arm's length and things had never gotten as complicated as they were now. But Rose had been there for him, had healed him and shined her light into his dark, lonely world and after centuries of denial he had tired of always shutting down his feelings and insisting everyone have a platonic relationship with him. After the loss of his people he ached for a kindred spirit, someone who could love and understand him, who was like him and Rose was all that and more. He had resisted at first but finally he realized the folly of treating her the same way he'd treated all the others and he allowed himself to fall head over heels in love with her and now…now he was paying the price for it and so was she. For the hundredth time he wished for death. He wished Rose had left him alone on the Gamestation and let the Daleks finish him off. He should have allowed himself to die after he took the time vortex from her. He should have forced himself to die and finally end his misery but his love for Rose and need to be with her overrode that urge and now this incarnation was even more inclined to be sentimental and loving than the last one was.

The Doctor sighed and shook his head. He couldn't think of this right now. He had work to do. With the Master stepping up his efforts at torturing him, he had precious little time to tune into the Archangel Network and link into it. He had to do that right now instead of thinking of Rose. But before he did, he closed his eyes and brought her beautiful face to the forefront of his consciousness.

"My love," he murmured under his breath. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for pulling you into all this. Pulling you into my tormented and hopeless life and letting you suffer along with me. I hope whatever happens, my Rose, you can forgive me because if something happens to you, I'll never forgive myself. "


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Rose slept on the bench until about nine in the morning. John kept to the shadows under the bench so no one passing by would be startled by his presence. There were a few people who had passed by. Some people glanced at Rose and a few scoffed at her sleeping there but to his relief no one bothered her. When she yawned and pushed herself up into a sitting position, John came back out and stood near her feet.

"Oh, my aching side. I feel sorry for the tramps who have to use these night after night. They're definitely not for sleeping on," she said to John.

She reached over the end, grabbed the rucksack and pulled it up beside her. She opened it, took out a ham sandwich and ate it while John kept watch.

"Wish we had a map," Rose said while she ate. "I s'pose we could find an abandoned shop and see if there's one inside. Other than that I don't know what to do except head east."

She made a face.

"Ugh, the Doctor must have been off his trolley telling Martha to go walk the world. I barely made it through the night let alone walk across continents. And how's she s'posed to tell everyone in the world about the Doctor in one year? It's gonna take more than one day to reach the coast of England and it'll take months to get across Europe on foot. And I don't even wanna think about Russia and China…and India and Canada and Australia…how will we get across the oceans? John, I still don't know if we can do this."

_Just take it one day at a time, Rose. We'll worry about those countries when we come to them, _John signed to her.

Rose nodded.

"Hey, love!"

Rose glared when a homeless man slumped down on the bench next to her. John scurried back into the shadows and went around Rose's legs as the man stretched out his arm and rested it on the back of the bench behind Rose.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing here all alone?" he drawled.

"Piss off," Rose said.

"What? I'm trying to talk to you, is that alright?" the man said angrily.

"Just as long as you talk to me and nothing more," Rose replied.

"Why? You got a boyfriend?"

Rose thought about that for a moment and decided that the Doctor had loved her in his own little way and certainly returned the kisses she gave him.

"Yes, I do," she said.

"Yeah, well where is he then?"

Rose hesitated. She didn't want to say he was away from her since she knew it would give the man ideas.

"He's nearby. He's went off in search of a loo," Rose replied.

"Really? Well, I'll sit here till he comes back. I'd like to meet the man who won the heart of a looker like you."

Rose cursed inwardly and tried to think of something else to get rid of him.

"Name's George, by the way. What's your name?" he drawled.

Rose paused a moment.

"Lily," she finally said.

George studied her.

"Really? Because you took a long time to answer me. Which makes me think that's not your real name," he said.

"And what if it's not? I told you I'm not interested in ya. Now my boyfriend's coming back soon and if you don't want a knuckle sandwich I suggest ya move along."

"I'll move when I'm good and ready to," George said angrily. "I told ya I wanna meet this boyfriend of yours and I'm not touching ya. If I wanted to rape ya, I would have done it by now and…"

His mouth dropped open when Rose snatched up her rucksack and moved away from him.

"Bitch!" he yelled at her as he leapt up and went in the opposite direction.

John waited until he was several feet away before he hurried to catch up with Rose. She had stopped by another bench and sat down on it to wait for him.

"Ugh, I hope I can find a CS canister along with the map. I have a feeling I'll need it," she said to John as she picked him up and put him in her lap.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After another hour of rest, Rose decided to walk for awhile. This time she kept her head down and kept calm whenever a Toclafane happened to fly by. To her relief, none of them seemed to notice her and she headed down the mainly deserted city streets, past the deserted cars and motorbikes that lined the road. Occasionally, she'd see the remains of a carcass that had been picked over by animals and she felt sick to her stomach when she realized a couple of them had been human once. After four hours, the sun became too intense and Rose found an abandoned restroom in a deserted office building and a battered couch near the door that offered her shelter from the sun. John stood nearby while she lay down on it and took another nap. While she slept John thought to himself. She had been walking for a night and part of the day and they'd only gone several miles through the city. Rose was right. At this rate, it would take months and months to complete this mission she had given herself. She had noticed the pain and weariness on her face and knew her feet were killing her. The added weight of the rucksack slowed her pace and added even more pressure on her feet and John figured it wouldn't be long before blisters started appearing on them. He paced back and forth in front of the couch trying to think of an easier way to do this. Wryly, he thought of sitting on Rose's shoulder and using his thumb to hitch a ride with someone but so far they hadn't seen anyone driving anything and he figured all motor traffic was prohibited now. He also knew how lucky they'd been with the Toclafane and he knew sooner or later one of them would probably figure out who Rose was and attack her. He thought of having her disguise herself somehow, alter her appearance so she wouldn't be that visible to their enemies and he made a mental note to tell Rose that when she woke up again. He wondered if Martha was also incognito and then realized that he had no idea what she looked like anyway. How would they know her if they ran into her? To his knowledge, Rose and Martha had never met so unless the Doctor had shown Martha a photo of Rose at some point she wouldn't know who Rose was either. He wondered if there was some way of getting a message to her perhaps through the TV, to let her know that they were out here trying to find her so she would temporarily abandon her mission to meet up with them. He figured that after what they had encountered going through London, it would be safer for both women to travel together. He lay down on the floor, relishing the feel of the cold marble on his palm while he continued to think up a solution for them to get to Martha and also for Rose to stay once the world was restored to its former state.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Master breathed a sigh of relief as he walked into his office. He had a long morning torturing and killing the Doctor and Harkness and he was exhausted. He paused at the open jar and ran his fingers down it, wondering how long the hand had been alive. He figured it was with Rose at the moment, no one had seen any sign of it since the Doctor and Jack had been captured. He was filled with curiosity about it and wanted more than anything to examine it. While he was doing that, he felt someone come into the room and turned to see Lucy in the doorway.

"Darling!" he said happily.

"Harry, how long do we have?" she said bluntly.

The Master froze halfway to her and frowned.

"Beg pardon?" he said.

"How long do we have until we're defeated?" she said.

The Master arched an eyebrow.

"What makes you think we're going to be defeated?" he said.

"I just feel it inside. The Doctor's far too clever for us and now that Rose has escaped, she'll find Martha and help the resistance and…"

"Pish Tosh, Rose has no idea what Martha looks like and since she's down there, I'm not going to air any more photos of her over the telly. As for the Doctor…"

He sneered as he thought of him lying bleeding in his tent.

"The old codger isn't a threat to us."

"Don't be so sure of that, Harry."

"What's that s'posed to mean?" the Master said.

Lucy snorted.

"He's defeated you in the past, hasn't he? Him and his…companions? What makes you think he won't do it again?"

The Master considered that.

"I'll have my guards keep watch over him at all times, him and Harkness."

"And what if the guards break through the hold you have on their minds? That one guard did it. The one that kept helping the Doctor. You said Archangel wasn't one hundred percent foolproof. It's only a matter of time, Harry, mark my words. You may think the Doctor's just sitting in there doing nothing but he's up to something and pretty soon we're gonna find out exactly what it is but it'll be too late then and we'll both go down with this ship because he'll turn his wrath on us."

The Master sighed angrily and held out his arms.

"Won't happen," he said.

"Harry…"

"Won't…happen!" he said emphatically. "The Doctor is mine, Harkness is mine, the world is mine and soon his girls and that hand will be mine as well. You're being paranoid, dearest. We've won. Now relax and enjoy our victory. Come here and give me a hug."

Lucy knew better but she also knew there was no convincing her husband of the truth so reluctantly she stepped into his arms and let him put them around her while she laid her head against his shoulder and worried silently about what would happen when the Doctor finally got the upper hand.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

Rose yawned and opened her eyes. It was nearing dark now and the sun was low in the sky. She glanced down and saw John near her.

"Hello, you," she said with a smile.

She giggled when John flipped onto his wrist and waved at her. She reached down and caressed the back of his hand while John stood still.

"Thanks for being here with me. I know I've said it before but I really am grateful to have you with me."

_You're welcome,_ he signed.

Rose sighed.

"Don't wanna move yet," she said. "We'll wait till it gets dark, yeah? Blimey, I'm spent. I don't know about Martha but I feel like I could sleep forever."

John saw her mood drop.

"Sleep forever. I've felt like doing that a lot since I was separated from the Doctor," she murmured. "Lost track of the number of times I considered killin' myself because I thought there was nothin' left."

John was alarmed at that. He hated that she was down in the dumps again and he thought of a way to bring her spirits back up. He smiled inwardly when he had an idea.

_Sing,_ he signed to her.

"Huh?"

_Sing something. I wanna show you something_, he signed.

Rose thought for a moment and started singing Britney Spears's Baby One More Time. As she sang, she was pleased to see John dance around to it and her mood instantly lifted. She continued to sing while he danced around and then she had an idea. She turned on her stomach, put her hand down on the floor and arched her fingers. She began to imitate his dance moves with her fingers. John vibrated with silent laughter, walked over and danced with her hand while Rose giggled and sang. When they were finished, John flexed his fingers and bowed while Rose did the same.

_Thank you, thank you,_ John signed. _Now give me five!_

He flipped onto his wrist and held his hand out while Rose slapped it.

_Now, high five!_ He signed.

Rose giggled as he began to make little bounces on his wrist. He did that seven times and then made a big bounce. Rose slapped his hand in mid-air and laughed when he landed on his wrist and bowed his hand.

_Now watch this,_ John signed.

He made a bunny head with his hand and began to bounce around on his wrist like a rabbit while Rose snorted out laughter. Once he got back to her side, he took another bow while she applauded.

"Hey," Rose said to him. "You wanna thumb wrestle?"

John vibrated with laughter and flopped down onto the side of his hand. Rose grinned and grabbed his hand. She counted to three and laughed when she tried to pin his thumb down. She succeeded and cheered while John shook his fist at her and then vibrated again.

"I love when how you shake when you laugh. It's so cute," Rose said to him.

John felt himself warm when she stroked the back of his hand.

"You're amazing, John. It's too bad you're just a hand," she murmured. "I wish you were a whole person."

_I have dreams about that_, John signed to her.

"What happens in the dream?" Rose asked.

John told her about being on the beach with her on the Doctor's hand while the other Doctor accused and condemned him. Rose frowned at that.

"Why would the Doctor condemn you? He likes you. I figured out that much in the short time we were together."

_I don't know. That's what I see in my dream._

"And you're back on the Doctor's hand and there's another Doctor?"

_I think the other Doctor is the original and I'm sort of a duplicate of him. That's what I think, at least,_ he signed.

Rose thought about that.

"Be interesting to see if it comes true," she muttered.

She shook her head.

"Listen to me. Few years ago I would hear stuff like this and think it was bonkers. I don't think that anymore," she said. "The strangest things could happen in front of me and I wouldn't bat an eyelid at them. First the Doctor and then Torchwood."

_What did you see working at Torchwood?_ John asked.

Rose told him about a few of her experiences working there while John lay quietly on the floor and listened. The sun dipped lower in the sky and when it was just about to sink below the horizon, Rose finally forced herself to get up. She went to the bathroom and freshened up while John rested on the sink beside her. When she was done, John hopped into the sink and let the cold water run over him. Rose took a bit of hand soap and soaped him down before John went back under the water again.

"Feel better?" she asked when he was done.

_Much better,_ he signed to her. _How about you?_

"My feet still hurt a bit but I'll live," she replied.

Rose picked him up and put him in her jacket before grabbing her rucksack and heading out the door. By now the sun had set and the moon began to rise over London. Rose looked around nervously for any other homeless men but to her relief no one was out. She kept to the shadows hurrying along as fast as she could, stopping every so often to rest on a bench. By now her feet were starting to ache and she had to keep slowing down and resting. After an hour of starting and stopping, she finally slumped down a bench and looked down into her jacket at John.

"This is insane, there's got to be a better way to do this. I'm never going to get through London at this rate."

John crawled out and sat on her shoulder while Rose put her hands in her jacket pockets and stared up at the moon. She heard a rushing noise behind her. Frowning, she got up to investigate and to her amazement saw a fountain running, lights illuminating the water and making it glow. She stared at it for a moment and shook her head.

"This is really strange, John. The whole of London is devastated and this fountain is still working and running like nothing's happened," she said, sitting down beside it. "I'm surprised the Master keeps it runnin'."

John hopped down and flipped up on his wrist.

_Maybe this is his way of keeping everyone pacified,_ he signed. _Give them a bit of happiness so they'll stay docile and won't resist._

Rose nodded.

"Hard to believe there's another time lord around. I thought the Doctor said he couldn't feel any others. How'd he miss this guy?"

_He was hidden from him._

"How?" Rose said.

John briefly explained the chameleon arch to her. Rose's eyes boggled.

"He can become human if he wants?" she said.

John nodded. He noticed Rose was lost in thought and tapped her leg. She looked down at him.

_What are you thinking about?_ He signed.

Rose smiled sadly.

"About the Doctor being human," she said. "Being human and growing old with me. I was just imagining what that would be like."

John was quiet while he considered that. He knew the Doctor loved Rose and wanted to be with her but held himself back because he would far outlive her. He wished there was some way for the Doctor to be with her for the rest of her life and grow old with her like she wanted but he had no idea how to make that happen.

"John!" Rose hissed at him.

John was jerked out of his thoughts and saw Rose ducking down under the rim of the fountain. He jumped down with her and then he saw why she'd done it. A Toclafane was heading their way. John and Rose kept perfectly still as it flew by. Then to their horror, the creature stopped a few feet past them. For one heart stopping moment they thought it had seen them but then it turned and went off to the right. They looked where it was going and saw a lone man walking along the pavement.

"Stop!" the Toclafane said in a male's voice.

"They can speak?" Rose hissed to John.

The man froze and stared up at the Toclafane when it got in front of him.

"Where are you going?" the Toclafane said.

"I'm going home. I've been out foraging for food for my family, since thanks to you and your friends all the shops are destroyed."

"You are prohibited from walking at this hour. There's a curfew," the Toclafane said smugly.

"Yeah, well you can take your curfew and shove it up your arse. I have a family to take care of so piss off and leave me alone!"

"You will stand still!" the Toclafane said when the man started to walk past him.

The man snorted and ignored him. Suddenly, they sat several sharp blades fly out from the underside of the Toclafane and to Rose and John's horror, the Toclafane attacked the man and began to slice him to bits while he screamed. Rose's heart stopped along with her breath and she could only watch in silent shock as the man was reduced to a bloody pulp by the laughing ball. Once he was done, the Toclafane rose up into the air and sped off leaving the mutilated man for the animals. John put his hand on Rose's head, comforting her while Rose let out a series of ragged, terrified breaths.

"John, what are we going to do?" she whispered. "How are we going to survive this journey with those things all over the Earth?"

John patted her head and rested there; giving Rose some comfort as she huddled under the fountain and cried softly.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two

After awhile, the Doctor finally felt well enough to crawl out from his tent and sit in front of it. He slowly sat down on his butt and reached over for the yellow dog dish that was filled with water. He swallowed his pride and took a sip of it knowing that the Master was probably recording him doing it so he could laugh about it later. After slaking his thirst, he set it back down and drew his knees up close to his chest while he looked around the room. One eye had been swollen shut and his face was aching from the abuse the Master heaped on him but he endured it stoically reasoning he'd had far worse in his life. His main concern was his friends especially Jack and Rose. Jack had still been chained up when the guards carted him away and he wondered if the Master was still in there killing him repeatedly. He was also worried about Rose. He hoped she was alright. In a way he was glad John was with her but he had to admit he also felt a bit envious. He thought it strange he was envious of a severed hand but the severed hand was with his lover while he was stuck, old and infirm, with the Master on his airship. He wondered if there was some way he could get him, Jack and Martha's family off the ship. At least for a little while.

He looked over to his left when the door opened and the Master came into the room holding a black velvet bag in his hand.

"Evening, mate," he said to him.

The Doctor said nothing and the Master pouted.

"Come on, is that any way to treat your old friend. We are old friends, aren't we?"

"We were once," the Doctor said. "Before you became a basket case."

"If I'm crazy, so are you," the Master said, walking up to him. "You've done a lot of barmy things in your life, same as me. You've also killed and maimed innocent people, same as me."

The Doctor said nothing.

"But of course when you kill and maim, it's because you're fighting for the safety of the universe. When I do it, I'm a nutter hellbent on destruction of the universe," he added. "Course we all know when you get right down to it we're both cut from the same cloth."

The Doctor snorted at that and the Master shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Keep on believing the lies you've told yourself over the centuries," he said. "You call me delusional but you're far more delusional than I am."

"Is this why you've come in here? To bother me like this?" the Doctor said angrily.

"I didn't think I was bothering you. I thought I was being friendly and chatting to an old friend. But oh well, I'll skip to the end then. I wanted to show you something fascinating. I don't know if you know this but Jack has some amazing regenerative properties. Observe."

He opened the bag, turned it over and the Doctor gasped when the top half of Jack's head fell out onto the floor. He stared at it in horror as Jack's one remaining eye stared blankly back. Rage clouded his mind and he nimbly leapt to his feet.

"Whoa! Nice move, Gramps. I guess you can move swiftly when you get angry enough," the Master said.

"You bastard. I'll kill you for this!" the Doctor snarled.

"Calm down. He didn't feel a thing. I just stuck him in a blast proof room with a bomb and watched the fun. But…observe the body part closely because it's fascinating. I'll be back in a minute. I should have brought you popcorn but it slipped my mind. Oh well, toodles."

The Doctor gnashed his teeth and fought to control his temper while the Master sauntered off towards the door. He knew the moment he tried to attack him the Master would signal the guards and they'd come rushing in. So he stood and fumed while the Master whistled cheerfully and went out the door. The Doctor slumped to the floor and stared numbly at the body part in front of him.

"Jack, I'm so sorry. I should have ordered you to go back home. I should have left you in London with Martha and fought the Master by myself. Old friend, I hate what's happened to you. I know Rose didn't mean to do this to you but still, I wish she hadn't come back for me that day then both you and her would be safe and…"

He trailed off and froze. For a moment he thought he was imagining things when he saw a bit of Jack's face grow back but then to his astonishment the head grew back into a full head and then his neck and torso and arms and legs. The Doctor was amazed at how Jack was growing a whole new body right in front of him. As he watched, that old time lord sensation of running away from something unnatural returned and he had to fight to keep still as Jack's body finished growing. Then with a huge gasp Jack's eyes snapped back open.

"Jack, Jack, calm down," the Doctor said, putting a hand on his shoulder when he saw how frightened his friend was. "It's alright, you're fine, you're safe."

For the moment, Jack only had hair on the side of his head that wasn't destroyed but even as he lay there, the Doctor could see his hair growing back in on the bald side and again he shook his head in wonder. Jack turned his eyes towards him.

"Doc?" he choked out. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"I guess so. I was just blown to bits by the Master," Jack said in a raspy voice.

"I know. He was in here gloating about it."

By now the hair had grown completely back. Jack rose up on his elbows and checked himself. He smiled when he looked down at his penis.

"Glad that came back. Don't know what I would have done without it."

The Doctor rolled his eyes at that. He put his hand behind Jack's back and helped him sit up all the way. Jack looked his friend over.

"So…you having fun in here?" he said.

"Oh yeah, havin' the time of my life," he said.

"Me too. I've always wanted to be slaughtered repeatedly by an insane time lord and now I've got my chance," Jack said.

He turned serious.

"Think Rose is alright?" he said softly.

"Dunno, I hope so. I hope she and John are both alright," the Doctor said.

Jack shook his head.

"All this time and that little bugger was alive. He never came alive for me. If he had I wouldn't have kept him imprisoned in the jar like that."

"Maybe he thought you'd do something kinky with him."

"I'd never…" Jack said. "Doc, I like you, alright? I really do like you but I do know when to control myself, you know? I did stop with that one kiss."

"Good thing."

"Oh come on, you didn't protest when I did it."

"I was too shocked to say anything, Harkness. I didn't know you were gonna kiss me after you laid your lips on Rose."

"I'm sorry, was that a jealous outburst just then?"

"Yes..no, I mean. I'm not jealous. I just…you think you're some kind of intergalactic playboy or something and think anyone you come across falls hopelessly in love with you."

"I never said that and believe me, I've had plenty of people turn me down," Jack said. "I think you've just a bit defensive especially when it comes to Rose."

"Rose and I have a special relationship."

"And I respect that," Jack said calmly. "But what I did that night was nothing more than a friendly peck on the lips, same with you. I didn't think I would see either of you again. Now can we drop this and move on?"

"Yes, because I don't wanna argue about it. I have more important things to do with my time."

"Yeah, like find some incontinence pads."

Jack held up his hands when the Doctor gave him a look of death.

"Kidding, just kidding, geez," he said. "Just trying to keep the mood light. I've been killed numerous times since I've gotten here and I'm trying to keep my sanity."

The Doctor nodded. They looked over when the door opened and the Master returned with two guards.

"There you are!" he said, hurrying over to them. "See, he grew back. Isn't that just neeeeeeeeeeat?"

Both the Doctor and Jack glared at him. The Master shrugged.

"Well, I for one was impressed," he said. But now, show's over. Gotta give Grampy-poo his shutty eye so he can get up bright and early and sleep in the chair by the telly while he wets himself."

The Doctor and Jack shared a look as the Master snickered at that.

"Up and on your feet, Harkness. Gotta get you back in your chains so you can get a good night's rest. I'm sure you're exhausted after regrowing everything, eh?"

"See ya later, Doc."

The Doctor nodded and watched as Jack stood up. The guards grabbed him on either side and Jack winked at the Doctor as they led him away.

"Fascinating what your friend can do," the Master said. "Makes me wanna step up my efforts to find your girlfriend so I can question your little Fairycake about how she accomplished that. I was thinking if I could tap into that and bring that power back long enough to make an immortal army…but I'm divulging too much right now, you need your shut-eye and when I say shut-eye, I mean sleep, not the shut eye you have from me hitting you repeatedly. But anyway, cheers as those wacky British humans say. Have fun being old."

The Doctor glared silently at the Master as he whistled and strode back out the door.

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After resting for a few hours, Rose resumed her pace through the city. John rode on her shoulder keeping an eye out for her. By now, no one was around and the few people they did see were sleeping in doorways and in the alleys and didn't disturb her. Rose was desperately looking around for a means of transportation since now her feet were aching and screaming for relief. She thought she could feel the beginning of blisters on her toes and she knew pretty soon they would be so big she would be hobbling along. She passed by a bus and paused to look at it. It looked deserted so Rose quickly hurried over to it. The door was open so she stepped up and into it. She froze when she saw a man, woman and three kids sleeping in the back seats. Cursing under her breath, she walked back down to the pavement.

"I s'pose even if we could drive it, those Toclafane things would stop us eventually," Rose muttered to John.

John slid down into her jacket as she walked over to a nearby bench, shrugged her rucksack off, set it down beside the bench and slumped down onto it. She glanced at a homeless man who was sitting beside her. He was emaciated with short brown hair and a brown beard. He was dressed in gray sweat pants, socks, trainers and a heavy black jacket. He glanced at her and nodded hello before he turned his attention back to the stars in the sky.

"Ugh, I'm tired," Rose muttered.

"Lie down," the man said with a Welsh accent as he patted the bench.

"Can't lie down. Been lying down all day. I need to get out of the city," Rose said to him.

"What for?" the man asked.

"I need to rescue some friends of mine that are being held prisoner by the Master," Rose said. "I'm on foot and I've been walking since I escaped but it's tiring. My feet are killing me and I don't think I can make it much longer on foot."

"How far are you going?" the man asked.

"Around the world."

"What? Why?"

"I have to help my friend. His name is the Doctor, have you ever heard of him?"

"Yes."

"Martha's spoken to you then?"

"No, who's Martha?"

"Friend of the Doctor. She's out walking the world too. I'm going to try to find her."

"So the Doctor, he's the one who's a captive?"

Rose nodded.

"Yeah, along with Martha's family and a man named Jack Harkness."

The man stood up and Rose flinched when he drew near to her, thinking he was going to do something to her. Instead, the man knelt down beside her.

"I might be able to help you. I know Jack Harkness as well."

Rose frowned.

"How'd ya know him?"

"I work with him at Torchwood. My name's Ianto Jones."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

Ianto led Rose to a nearby house that had been abandoned.

"I've been hiding out here since I got back from Tibet," he said to her. "I've tried to keep a low profile so the Master or those Toclafane things don't detect me."

"Why were you in Tibet?" Rose asked him.

Ianto pointed to a battered sofa and sat down after she did.

"There were four of us besides Jack. Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, Gwen Williams and me. We got a message that there was trouble in Tibet in the Himalayan Mountains. A yeti had supposedly been sighted and they'd specifically asked for Torchwood to help track it down and contain it. We wanted to wait for Jack to return but they were insistent that we get out there and find it so we left. We didn't find anything and we were on our way back to Cardiff when the Toclafane attacked. They ran us off the road into a ditch and our car flipped over. I was driving and was knocked out and when I came to I saw that the others had been killed by those bastards. I s'pose they thought I was dead and that's why they left me alone. But I managed to make my way back here and was hiding from them until I could find a way to get back to the Hub safely. I'm pretty sure the Master and the Toclafane have their eye on it in case someone tries to go there. Poor Myfanwy, I'm sure she's dead or nearly dead now. Need to get back there so I can feed her."

Rose kept silent trying to process everything while Ianto went to make some tea for them. She glanced down at John who was still hiding in her jacket.

"So how do you know about the Doctor then? Through Jack?" she asked him.

"Yes but I knew about him before that. I worked at the Torchwood in Canary Wharf," Ianto said from the kitchen.

Rose flinched at that. Ianto came back out and headed towards the sofa.

"My girlfriend, Lisa, was there with me. Those Cybermen tried to turn her into one of them but they didn't finish the job, long story," he said, sitting down beside her. "So, now it's your turn. Why are you planning to walk the Earth?"

Rose explained what was going on and what the Doctor had told Martha. Ianto interrupted her only once when the teakettle whistled and she waited until he returned with their tea before she finished her story.

"So the Doctor didn't ask you to do this. You're just doing this on your own," Ianto said when she finished.

Rose nodded.

"I want to help. If telling people about him is part of his plan then I want to make sure the job gets done," Rose said. "I don't know how competent Martha is but I'm sure she could use all the help she can get right now, especially if she is out walking. I'm spent and I haven't even gotten past London yet."

"Yeah, I had to do a bit of walking myself to get here. So I can imagine how taxing it'd be to go across the entire world," Ianto said. "But if you need some help, I might be able to assist you. I have my laptop and I can try to patch into the classified news about Martha and find out where she might be. Then we can figure out a way to contact her."

"Do you still have your car?" Rose said.

"No, I had to abandon it before the Toclafane came back. All motor travel is restricted though. Only medical personnel are allowed to travel and you have to have the proper ID."

"And you can't make that ID for us?" Rose asked.

Ianto took a sip of tea as he thought.

"I s'pose I could try. Problem is, I don't know what one looks like. I've never seen a pass up close so I can't duplicate it exactly and if the Toclafane determine it's a fake, we're done for."

Rose sighed. She took a sip of tea.

"Can you find out if there are any doctors in the area?" she asked after a moment's thought. "Perhaps we can find one and see if he has a pass you can examine."

"Let me get my laptop," Ianto said, rising to his feet.

Rose took a sip of tea as he watched him go. John crawled out of her jacket and hopped down beside her.

_Think he's trustworthy?_ He signed to her.

"I hope so. I don't know what else to do right now," Rose replied.

"Here's my lap…"

Ianto froze when he saw John. Rose gave him a weak smile.

"I better explain him as well," she said to him.

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Ianto listened in shock while Rose told him about John.

"And neither you nor he knows how he came to be alive and moving around," he said when she finished.

"No but he's been a good friend and he's protected me and I trust him," Rose said, patting John's back. "I know it's bizarre…"

Ianto let out a chuckle.

"Trust me; I'm an expert in bizarre now. And Jack did have a hand at one point but he told us it was fake."

He picked John up and looked him over.

"Fascinating," he said. "Does the Master know about him?"

"Yes, he escaped from him along with me."

"Well, as long as you don't decay, you're welcome here," Ianto said, setting him down on the sofa.

_Thank you_, John signed.

Rose giggled at Ianto's shock.

"So he can hear us, see us?" Ianto said.

Rose nodded and grinned. Ianto shook his head.

"Weird," he said. "But if you're used to it and accept him being alive, I will too. For now, let's see if we can find someone who might be able to help us get out of the city."

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Rose sat and sipped her tea while Ianto used his laptop to break into restricted sites and search for any doctors in the area.

"Got one," Ianto said. "I found a list of doctors and nurses who have medical passes and are allowed to travel. There's one nearby. He's called Tom Milligan. Do you wanna try to talk to him?"

Rose nodded. Ianto bookmarked the page and closed his laptop.

"We'll do it in the morning then," he said to her. "For now, you need some rest. There are several bedrooms upstairs you can use."

"Thanks, bedroom sounds wonderful," Rose said.

She picked John up.

"Thank you for doing this," Rose said.

"Thank you. I finally know where Jack's at and I think together we might be able to find Martha and rescue him," Ianto replied.

Rose nodded. She bid Ianto good night before going upstairs. Ianto finished his tea, kicked his shoes off and with a sigh stretched out on the sofa and fell asleep.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four

For the longest time, Rose was unable to sleep. The bed was soft and comfortable but she couldn't help but wonder who it belonged to and what happened to them. She hoped they'd had only fled the house and not been killed by the Toclafane.

John lay beside her on the bed, his body resting on the pillow beside Rose. He was awake too. Being part of a time lord, he didn't need that much sleep. He was watching Rose and letting her think for awhile in the hopes that she would soon grow tired and drift off to sleep. After awhile, Rose's eyes finally closed and her breathing evened out as she finally fell asleep. John listened to her breathing while he thought to himself and waited for the sun to rise.

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The next morning, Rose woke early, stretched and sat up on the side of the bed. John came over to her side.

_Feel better?_ He signed to her.

"Much better. My feet aren't hurting now."

_Good,_ John signed.

"John, I was thinking about something last night. Ianto said he works with Jack at Torchwood. So you knew him there?"

_I knew he worked there but I didn't see much of him since Jack put me in a corner and tried to pretend I wasn't there. I saw him when I played a prank on Jack. Jack blamed Ianto for what I did_.

Rose chuckled.

"That wasn't very nice," she teased.

_Well, I was upset that Jack imprisoned me in the jar so I didn't care if Ianto got blamed,_ he signed.

"I can understand that," Rose said, stroking his back.

She picked him up and carried him into the adjoining bathroom. John waited patiently until she got done washing her face and body before he slipped under the tap and washed himself. Rose soaped him down and he finished up.

"Another reason you need to become a whole person is you need someone to help you bathe," Rose said to him.

John nodded. Rose walked over to the linen closet and pulled out a big, pink fluffy towel. She walked over to John, picked him up and lightly dried him off. When she was done, she opened the towel and let him slide out onto the sink counter before she used it on herself.

"Rose?" Ianto called up from downstairs. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, we both are. We're getting ready now."

"Okay, I'll make us a light breakfast and afterwards we'll go find Tom."

"Okay, be down in a minute!" she called.

She smiled at John.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

John gave her a thumbs up. Rose put on her jacket, zipped it up halfway and put John inside it before heading down for breakfast.

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After eating a light breakfast of buttered toast and coffee, the three of them headed out. Rose was wearing a pink hoodie and put the hood up to try to conceal her identity while Ianto glanced around, making sure they weren't being followed. On the way they passed by an ASDA and went inside. There were a few people gathering things together so Rose and Ianto made sure to keep out of their way. Ianto chose a black rucksack and began to shop for clothes and supplies while Rose went to find an atlas. On the way there, she saw some winter clothes, hats, scarfs and gloves and had a sudden thought. She took John out, set him on the floor and beckoned to him to follow her. John followed behind while Rose walked over to the gloves. She chose a red pair, separated them and bent down.

"See if you can wear this. It's gonna get colder soon and you need some protection," Rose said.

John flipped onto his wrist and held perfectly still while Rose put the knitted glove on him.

"Okay, now walk around and see if it's comfortable," Rose said when she was finished.

John flipped onto his fingers and walked around in front of Rose while she waited. After a couple of minutes, he flipped back and gave her the OK sign. Rose nodded.

"I'll get you these gloves then," she said.

John gave her the thumbs up and let Rose take the glove off him. He watched while she selected pink gloves, hat and scarf and put them in her rucksack before they walked on. Rose found the atlases and selected a medium sized one that would fit in her rucksack. After that, they went and got a few boxes and cans of food and some toiletries before finally meeting up with Ianto near the front door. Once they had everything situated, they continued on in search of Tom.

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"Looks like this is the place," Ianto said after an hour's walk.

The house looked deserted and most of the windows were boarded up. They approached cautiously, John resting inside Rose's jacket. Ianto went up the stairs and knocked on the door. Both of them gasped when it flew open and an emaciated black woman shoved a revolver in Ianto's face.

"Keep moving, whoever you are," she said menacingly.

Ianto and Rose held their hands up.

"My name's Ianto Jones," he said.

"I don't give a damn if you're Rupert the bloody Bear, get the fuck outta here!" the woman growled.

"No, wait, listen. We're trying to stop the Master and we need some help," Ianto said. "We need a way out of the country and we need to speak with Tom Milligan."

The woman lowered the gun slightly but still gave them a wary look.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" She asked.

"You don't. You'll just have to trust us and if the Toclafane come here, you can shoot us," Ianto replied.

The woman looked around for any sign of the Toclafane.

"Get inside and be quiet. I'll tell Tom you're here. Don't touch anything," she said.

They nodded and came inside when she stepped back. Inside the house they saw several other people huddled in the other room, staring at them quietly. The woman closed the door, ordered the others to keep an eye on them and moved past them. Ianto leaned back against the wall beside the door while Rose stood beside him.

"I hope they listen to us before they start shooting," Ianto said to her.

The woman returned a few minutes later with a young man. He was tall, thin with short dark hair and a clean shaven face. He was dressed all in black with a black jacket and trainers.

"Sorry, Miranda's a bit wary of strangers. We're part of the resistance that's fighting against the Master and spies are everywhere. I'm Tom. You're Ianto?"

"Yes, and this is Rose," Ianto said. "We need to talk to you. You have a medical ID?"

"Sure do, it's been a great help. It allows me to travel and spread information about our rebellion without being detected."

"Well, we're traveling and we wanna leave and go to France," Rose said. "Ianto can duplicate a pass but he needs to see what one looks like before he can do it."

"Really? You're that good with computers?" Tom said.

"I'm very good with computers," Ianto replied.

"We might need someone like you," Tom said.

He waved Miranda away and took them back into the kitchen. They sat down at an old wooden table and Tom reached into his back pocket for his wallet.

"So, what's in France?" he said while he took out his ID card and gave it to Ianto. "Toclafane are there as well if you're looking for escape from them."

"We know that but we're trying to find Martha Jones," Rose said to him.

"Uh-huh, who's that? A family member?" Tom said, sitting down beside Ianto while he took his laptop out of his rucksack.

"You didn't get visited by her?" Rose said.

"Nope, not to my knowledge," Tom said. "Don't recall any Martha Jones visiting us. Why? Is she someone special?"

"Well, actually, she's spreading the word about a man called the Doctor and I'm doing it as well so if you don't mind, could you gather everyone together later so I can talk to them?" Rose asked.

Tom shrugged.

"Sure. I'm kinda curious now about this Martha and…the Doctor? Doctor who?"

"He's just called the Doctor," Rose said.

"Uh-huh, well, if you're not spies, you're welcome here. Not sure how you're gonna make it to France but you can rest up here for as long as you need."

"You couldn't take us?" Ianto said, glancing up from his laptop.

Tom scratched his cheek thoughtfully.

"I s'pose I could but you'd have to hide in the back of my truck for safety's sake," he said.

"That's fine," Rose said. "We just need a way to get to France quickly. We think Martha might be there and we want to catch up with her."

"Well, I'll tell you what I can do. I'll take you to Dover. I know someone there who secretly ferries people across the channel and I'm sure he can take you."

"Thank you," Ianto said. "We'd appreciate it."

"What are you gonna do once you find this Martha?" Tom said.

"We're going to go around the world and tell people about the Doctor," Rose said.

"On foot? Are you nuts?" Tom said, staring at her with wide eyes. "Do you know how long that'll take?"

"The Doctor sent Martha to do it so we're going to help her out," Rose said.

"Well, best of luck to you and your feet. I wouldn't do it but if you have the guts to travel the world with the Toclafane flying around, you have my admiration and best wishes for a safe journey. I just hope you can do it and come back to England in one piece."

"Same here," Rose said.

Tom looked at what Ianto was doing. He had a small camera and had taken a picture of his ID.

"You know, I have a couple of extra ones. I can take your photos and glue them onto the front so it looks like they're yours," Tom said.

"Could you do that for us?" Ianto said.

"Sure. It'll save you some time since I guess you're in an enormous hurry here," he replied. "I just hope you can find this Martha before the Toclafane or the Master find you."

"Me too," Ianto said.

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After speaking with them, Tom fetched two medical IDs for Ianto and Rose. He used Ianto's camera to take a picture of them and after printing it out, he carefully cut the tiny photos out and glued them on top of the existing photos.

"This man and woman were killed by the Toclafane awhile back," he explained. "I was with them and took their IDs before anyone could get ahold of them."

"Why were they killed?" Rose asked.

Tom sighed.

"They got into an argument with the bloody things. It was near the start of the invasion. Back before we realized that just because you had a pass didn't mean the Toclafane wouldn't kill you if you insulted them and that's what they did. Marie and Clive were flippant towards them because they were being harassed and the Toclafane sliced them to bits. They left me alive so I could go and tell others what happened as a warning. But even though they died, their IDs will still be of some use to you."

He finished his work and handed the IDs to them. Rose and Ianto thanked him and put the IDs in their trouser pockets.

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After supper, Rose gathered everyone together in the kitchen and told them about the Doctor and his message. Ianto sat beside her listening quietly while John did the same, snug in her jacket. The rebels and Ianto listened spellbound while she recounted some of the adventures she had with the Doctor and she finished up by giving them all the instruction that Angela gave to her.

"So we're suppose to say the Doctor's name and somehow the world goes back to the way it was before?" Tom said when she finished.

"Yeah," Rose said. "And I know it sounds daft but I've traveled with the Doctor and I've seen incredible things and I don't doubt for one second that he can make it happen."

"And you're supposed to tell everyone you see this same thing?" Tom said.

Rose nodded.

"And so is Martha," she added.

"Well, good luck to ya," Tom said while the rest of the rebels nodded in agreement. "We'll do what you say and say his name at the right time. Hell, we don't have anything to lose anyway."

"Thank you. I guarantee you won't be disappointed if you do this," Rose said. "I know the Doctor and I know he can save us all. I have faith in him."

They all nodded.

"Well, if that's all you need to say then I'm ready to go whenever you are," Tom said to them.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty Five

When night came, Tom loaded the back of his truck with supplies and made room for Rose and Ianto. Both of them climbed into the back and lay on their sides while Tom threw a tarp over them and tied it down.

"If I get stopped, just keep quiet no matter what happens," they heard him say.

They listened while he got inside the truck, closed the door and started it up.

"Here we go, off on our barmy little holiday around the world," Ianto said to Rose.

"Yeah but we'll make it, we have to," Rose replied.

Both of them lay quietly for awhile while John rested inside Rose's jacket. Occasionally they would say something to one another but soon the hum of the engine and the movement of the truck lulled them both into a deep sleep.

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Rose was standing on a beach along with her mother, two versions of the Doctor and a strange red-haired woman. Behind the redhead the TARDIS stood, patiently waiting for its occupant to get back inside. The Doctor was in front of Rose, his brown suit slightly rumpled, his wild hair blowing in the breeze and an apologetic look on his face. Behind her stood another Doctor, only this one was dressed in a blue suit and red t-shirt. This Doctor looked at her tenderly and then glared at the other Doctor when he lay a protective hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Rose," brown suited Doctor said with those same apologetic eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" Rose asked.

"Because I must," he replied. "For the sake of the universe, I must leave you here with him."

He turned his gaze to the other Doctor and his expression darkened.

"How could you do this to me? I trusted you," brown suited Doctor said. "You were my friend and you've gone and betrayed me."

"I betrayed no one," blue suited Doctor said. "I did what I did for the sake of the universe. I did what you didn't have the guts to do and I finally ended the nightmare Davros began centuries ago."

"You didn't have to kill them, John!" the Doctor thundered back.

Rose was shocked when she learned the identity of the second Doctor. She turned her head to look at John. He smiled tenderly at her for a brief moment before he focused his anger back on the Doctor.

"They were a threat to the universe; I couldn't leave them alive, not any more. I grew tired of them constantly reappearing and making my life hell!"

"You didn't have to kill them. There's always another way," the Doctor pleaded.

"Not this time. If I'd let them live they would have gone off and maimed and killed others. You're condemning me for providing a service to the universe and you're making poor Rose suffer with me."

The Doctor turned his eyes to Rose and once more gave her a look of apology.

"She's needed here," he said softly, trying to convince himself rather than John. "She needs to be with you, to look after you. She loves you more than me anyway."

"No!" Rose said quickly. "I love you, I love you both. Can't the two of you work out a solution that doesn't involve stranding us here?"

"I'm sorry, Rose, it must be done."

Without another word, the Doctor turned and strode back into the TARDIS with the red haired woman following behind him. Rose stood and stared at him in shock as he took one last glance at her before closing the door.

"No, you can't do this," Rose whispered. "Please don't go. I love you."

Rose's breath caught in her throat when she heard the familiar wheezing and watched the TARDIS fade away, leaving her, John and Jackie alone on the beach. Tears streamed down her face when she realized that he had left her for good. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked at it. It was John's right hand, the hand that had kept her company when she and Ianto walked the world. Her eyes went up his arm to his face and she saw love and complete devotion shining in his eyes while he gazed at her.

"He's gone, Rose, but I will never leave you," John said. "I will protect you the way I protected you when we traveled the world together. I loved you then and I love you now and I will be with you until we're separated by death."

"Oh, John," Rose said softly.

John leaned down to her and kissed her lips gently. Rose put her arms around him and kissed him passionately, realizing that even though the Doctor had left her he had granted her this one small mercy and John, her John, would be with her and grow old with her for as long as she or he lived.

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Rose woke and lay there in the darkness wondering what the dream meant. She remembered John telling her about them standing on a beach together and the Doctor condemning him. Was her dream a part of that, a premonition of things to come?

"John?" Rose whispered.

She felt him move inside her jacket and saw him come out and stand in front of her but it was so dark she knew she wouldn't be able to read what he was signing if he said something. So she reached out and stroked his back before she took his hand. John lay down when she lay her hand on the floor of the truck and stayed there while Rose used her other hand to stroke his back.

"I know I won't be able to see you if you sign something to me so I just want you to listen," she whispered to him. "If we do find a way for me to stay here, then I want you to stay with me, John. Don't ever leave me, please."

As a response, John squeezed her hand tightly for a brief moment before relaxing. She then felt him let go and saw his outline as he walked to her head. He lay back down and Rose sighed softly when John began to stroke the top of her head.

"Thank you, John," Rose murmured.

John continued to stroke her as she let out a contented sigh and went back to sleep.

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Rose's eyes snapped open when she heard Tom's voice.

"My name is Tom Milligan, I'm allowed to travel, I have a pass!"

Rose looked at John and Ianto. By now it was daylight and she could see them both clearly. Ianto put his finger to his lips and Rose nodded. She watched as John got up and paced while in an agitated state. She sensed his frustration and figured he was angry that they were in danger and he couldn't do much to protect them. She put her hand on his back and gently urged him to her chest. John came up beside her and stood quietly while Rose rubbed his back and calmed him down.

"Where are you going?" they heard a woman say in a metallic voice.

"I'm delivering medical supplies to the workers at missile site fifteen," Tom replied.

Rose blinked.

"Missile site?" she mouthed to Ianto.

"You may pass," the Toclafane said after a moment's silence.

"Thank you," Tom replied.

They heard him get back in the truck and both of them breathed a sigh of relief as John lay back down beside Rose. Rose waited till he was driving again before speaking.

"Missile sites? Do you know anything about that?" she asked him.

Ianto shook his head.

"No, I never saw any missile sites when I was making my way back to London," he replied.

"When we were on the Valiant, the Doctor found this work order for parts but we didn't know what they were for. I s'pose they were for these missiles. Damn, I wish there was some way I could contact him and tell him."

"Why would he need missiles?" Ianto said. "I'm assuming that he's going to use them on the rest of the world but he has those Toclafane and they're just as destructive, even more so."

Rose held up a finger when she had another thought.

"The Doctor found another list as well. It was the names of all these planets but there was no explanation about what the list was for. Maybe the missiles aren't for Earth," she said.

_He wants to wage interplanetary war,_ John signed. _I know the Master and I know he loves nothing more than destroying and conquering. I'm also guessing that's what the missiles are for._

"We need to find a way to contact the Doctor then," Rose said. "To let him know what's happening so he can work it into his plans."

"How do you propose we do that?" Ianto asked.

"Dunno, but there's got to be a way, same as there's got to be a way to find Martha. There's usually a solution to everything, we just need to think of it."

"Well, I hope we think of it soon before the Master uses those missiles on the rest of the universe," Ianto replied.

Rose sighed.

"I s'pose for the moment we should just concentrate on one thing at a time. First we find Martha, perhaps she knows a way we can contact him. After that, we worry about how to stop the missiles from firing and destroying the whole universe."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty Six

By the time they reached Dover it was nightfall. Both Rose and Ianto slept some more while John kept watch over them. When Tom stopped, John scurried back into Rose's jacket while Tom took the tarp off. They climbed out and noticed a man standing nearby holding a lantern. beyond him was a big, white rowboat with another man sitting inside it.

"This is Theodore and the man in the boat is Charles. They're going to row you across the channel."

"Get in the end of the boat though under the tarp," Charles said with a thick Scottish accent. "That way no one will see ya if we're spotted."

Rose and Ianto nodded. They took turns thanking Tom.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Tom said after they both shook his hand and thanked him. "You two are nutters in my opinion. I just hope the world gets saved after all this."

"So do I, but I have faith in the Doctor," Rose said.

"I'm glad you do because I wouldn't do what you two are doing. I admire your bravery though and good luck on your mission. And I'll remember what you said and spread the word around London so you won't have to come back and do it."

"Thank you," Rose replied.

Tom and Theodore walked them to the boat and he stood and waited until they were in back and under a heavy tarp before he turned and went back to his truck. Reaching the door, he turned and saw Theodore push the boat away before getting into the front and rowing with Charles. Tom waved to them and then got back into his truck so he could get back to London before the Toclafane found out what was going on.

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Throughout the night, Rose and Ianto lay under the tarp listening to the sloshing of the water and smelling the salty sea air.

"Yup, this is what I've always wanted to do, lie under a tarp in the middle of the English Channel," Ianto said. "One of my boyhood dreams."

"I know it's uncomfortable but hopefully the Toclafane won't fly all the way out here."

"I wouldn't count on it, Rose. Those things swarmed all over the Earth, you know. Where were you living when they attacked?"

"I was in a parallel universe," Rose said. "I had no idea any of this happened until the Master used a paradox machine to pull me through. I used to live here before I got stuck over there. I was there with the Doctor at Canary Wharf that day, same as you. I nearly got pulled into the void with the Daleks and Cybermen until my dad saved me but the gap closed on us and it stranded me over there until now. The paradox machine is what allows the Toclafane to be here. They came from the future and they can kill their ancestors without canceling each other out as long as the machine keeps working. The Doctor wants to destroy it but not yet. But when he does, everything the paradox machine was used for gets sorted out and that means I go back to my original universe and possibly lose my memory of all this. John wants to find a way to keep that from happening, me leaving, I mean, but I don't know if it's possible."

"Do you want to go back?" Ianto said softly.

"No. I mean, my mum and little brother and my ex-boyfriend Mickey are there but the Doctor is here and so is John and I don't want to leave either one of them."

John felt elated when he heard her include him and tell Ianto she didn't want to leave him. Love swelled inside him until it made his whole hand feel like it was on fire.

"I hate what's happened here but in a way I'm glad because if the Doctor needs eleven months, that's eleven months I have until we have to figure out a way to prevent me from going back. I only wish him and Jack were off the Valiant and with us now."

"Same here. I don't know if Jack said something to you when you were up there, but he and I..."

Rose stared at him when he coughed nervously. Then she understood what he was trying to say.

"You and him are lovers?"

Ianto nodded.

"So both of the men we love are prisoners," Rose said.

Ianto nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just as concerned as you are about him. I realize he can't really die but still...the Master might learn about that and use it against him," Ianto said.

"He has. I know the Master's killed him before."

Ianto closed his eyes, his heart in complete anguish while he imagined Jack in pain as he died again and again in cruel, heartless ways. Rose touched his hand sympathetically.

"We'll get him back, I promise. We'll save him and the Doctor and Martha's family from the Master," she said.

Ianto nodded. They fell silent for awhile and then Rose finally spoke.

"Ianto, about Jack being immortal, do you know how that happened?"

"No, he's never told me," Ianto said. "I just know that he's been that way for as long as I've known him. It was a shock the first time I saw it happen but now I'm used to it. I just wish that Owen and Tosh and Gwen had the same ability."

Rose took his hand in hers and gave it a sympathetic squeeze.

"Doctor said that if he destroys the paradox machine, everything will go back to the way it was before. Before the Toclafane came, I imagine."

Ianto gave her a hopeful look.

"Then my friends would come back, they'd all live again like this never happened."

"And the rest of the people the Toclafane killed and hopefully the Doctor would become young again although he never really said when the Master did that to him."

"But if all this happens, you must go back to the other universe," Ianto said.

She nodded.

"Yeah, but if nothing can be done to keep me here, it'll be worth it if your friends are restored to ya and the Earth goes back to the way it was," she said.

"I'll help John try to think of a solution, a way to keep you here," Ianto said. "It's not fair for you to go back if you don't wanna go especially if the man you love is here."

Rose smiled and patted her jacket.

"The men I love," she corrected.

She chuckled at the odd look on Ianto's face.

"What can I say, he's a part of him...or was and I've grown very fond of him now."

John felt like doing flip flops when he heard that. But a moment later, he calmed down and thought when he realized he was basically in competition with himself for the affection of a human girl. He reflected on that a moment. It was hard to believe that one human girl could make him feel this way but he loved Rose like no other and he knew the Doctor was the same way. This one simple human girl had the power to make them both feel weak at the knees and he knew if he had a body he would offer it in service to her and do whatever she asked. He knew it was very hard for the Doctor to deny her anything without feeling guilty. It was the main reason why he had allowed her to risk time and space for the sake of getting a second chance to be with her father at the moment of his death and he would have done no differently. He wasn't sure if such a thing as soul mates existed, but if it did, Rose would be his without a doubt. Both Rose and Ianto fell silent and John crawled out of her jacket, wincing inwardly at the feel of the wet wood on his fingertips while he walked around. He saw Rose staring at him silently, her eyes blazing with love. He turned to see Ianto had a different look on his face. He was curious but at the same time he could tell that he was thinking about what Rose said about being in love with him and getting creeped out by that. It made him laugh inside knowing that he had done the same thing his original owner did, got Rose Tyler to fall in love with him and with less parts than he had. He could picture the Doctor's reaction upon hearing that Rose had fallen in love with a living body part. It gave him pause though, this rivalry between them. Would that cause the Doctor to condemn him and leave him stranded without a TARDIS? But if so, why leave Rose with him? The dream still puzzled him and in addition to that, the heartbeart was getting closer and closer with each passing moment and that also gave him cause to worry since he had no idea why he was hearing it or what it meant, only that he felt that it meant that things would change forever for him when the heartbeat finally caught up with him and that possibly the dream he had been dreading so much would finally come to pass.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty Seven

As the boat continued to sail across the English Channel, Rose and Ianto gradually went back to sleep while John kept watch over them. About two hours after they fell asleep, John heard a plunk on the top of the tarp followed by Charles's soft cursing. Another plunk followed and another before John realized it was starting to rain. Ten minutes later, it was raining hard and John could hear the distant boom of thunder.

"Bollocks!" Charles said, "what a night for this to happen."

Another crack of thunder woke Rose and her eyes snapped open. John went to her side and lay there while Rose stroked his back. A lightning flash revealed that Ianto was now awake and staring at them quietly. The storm was now raging above them and the boat rocked back and forth as water hit the sides and sloshed over the sides and hit the top of the tarp. Both Rose and Ianto groaned when some of it seeped through the gaps of the tarp and made the bottom of the boat even wetter than it was.

"I would suggest getting up but I have a feeling we'd be out of the frying pan and into the fire then," Ianto said when they heard another thunder boom.

"I just hope we don't sink or Theodore and Charles don't get struck by lightnin'," Rose replied.

"It's okay, we've got the boat under control!" Theodore called to them. "Nothing to worry about."

Both Rose and Ianto gasped when the boat rocked violently in the waves.

"If this is nothing to worry about, I'll hate to see what it looks like when we do have to worry," Ianto said.

Both of them tried to keep steady while John climbed back into Rose's jacket.

"Oh God, I think I'm gonna be sick," Rose said as the boat rocked violently.

Then finally, they heard the thunder starting to soften and the boat went from violent jerks to a soft rocking as the storm went away. Both of the breathed a sigh of relief and John patted Rose's chest in a soothing gesture. Rose reached in and stroked his middle finger.

"Good job you don't have a mouth on ya," Rose said.

She felt him vibrate and her heart leapt knowing she'd just made him laugh. He came back out of her jacket and gingerly walked around, hating the feel of the wet wood on his fingertips. The storm had passed and now the boat gently rocked and they could hear the soft slosh of the oars going through the water.

"You alright under there?" Theodore called out.

"Yeah, you?" Ianto said.

"We're wet and a bit shaken but we'll survive," Charles replied. "We're just about to shore now. So try to relax. You'll be in France before dawn."

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Charles was a bit off the mark. They arrived on the shores of France just after dawn. John went back into Rose's jacket when Charles and Theodore untied the tarp and let her and Ianto out. Once that was done, they pulled the boat further up onto the beach.

"Passports?" Theodore said, holding out his hand.

He chuckled at the shocked look on his passenger's faces.

"Only joking," he said. "But welcome to France. I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for."

"Yeah, same here," Ianto said.

They shook his hand and Charles's hand, put their rucksacks on their backs and started to walk away.

"You know, Paris is pretty far and it'll take time. I could drive you there if you'd like," Charles said.

"Would you please?" Rose said, walking up to him.

He chuckled.

"Certainly Lassie," he said. "I would be happy to drive you."

"Won't you get stopped though?" Ianto asked.

"Nah, got a forged medical pass of me own. I'll be fine. You, however, must go back under the tarp again."

"Lovely," Ianto said to Rose.

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After getting into the back of the truck, Charles drove off while Theodore waited in a nearby cave for him to return.

"Kinda gettin' used to this tarp travel," Ianto said as he and Rose lay on their sides facing one another. "Wouldn't mind going the whole way like this."

"Same here. It beats walkin' any day."

"How are your feet holding up?"

"They don't hurt anymore and I don't think I have any blisters."

"Good, because if we're gonna do this. We'll need our bodies in prime condition," Ianto replied.

Suddenly, the truck jerked to a stop and both of them gasped when their bodies jerked along with it.

"What was that for?"

Ianto shrugged. Then they both heard voices. Several angry voices yelling at them in French. Rose cursed wishing she had the TARDIS around to translate.

"They want Charles to take the tarp off. They think he's hiding food back here," Ianto said softly.

"You know French?" Rose said softly.

Ianto nodded and listened to a male voice who was screaming at Charles.

"He wants Charles to show them what he's hiding or they'll kill him," Ianto said softly.

Rose felt John stir and begin to come out of her jacket.

"No, John, stay in there where it's safe," Rose said, slamming her hand against her jacket.

She sensed John's frustration and felt him squirm under her firm grip but she couldn't risk it, she had no idea how many there were out there and the last thing she wanted was John to hurt or taken away somewhere.

Then suddenly the tarp was thrown off and both Rose and Ianto blinked as the morning sun hit their eyes. They saw five men and women standing around the truck staring down at them in confusion.

"qu'est-ce que c'est ?" one of the men said, pointing to them.

"He said what is this?" Ianto said to Rose.

"Ils sont des passagers." Charles replied.

"He told them we're passengers," Ianto said to Rose.

"Nous avons besoin de nourriture. Donnez-nous la nourriture," the man said.

"We need food. Give us food," Ianto said to Rose.

Rose's heart went out to them. She sat up and opened up her rucksack while the men and women watched eagerly. She handed the man a couple bags of crisps and a plastic bottle of tea. She gasped when the man snatched it from her hands and seconds later, a fistfight broke out as the five hungry people fought over them.

"Donnez-moi cela, enculé!" a woman screamed as she punched one of the men when he finally got a hold of one of the crisp bags.

Rose looked at Ianto.

What'd she say?"

Ianto gave her a ruthful smile.

"Give me that, fucker," he said to her.

"Non, non," Charles said, walking to them, waving his arms around. "Arrêtez! Veuillez arrêter!"

"No no, stop, please stop," Ianto said.

They gasped when one of the women punched Charles in the face and he reeled back.

"Suit yourself, mates," he said, heading for the truck.

He quickly threw the tarp back over and hastily tied it down while the five people fought. By the time they realized what was going on, he had started it up and was speeding off towards Paris.

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"Here we are, Paris, or what's left of it," Charles said when he threw back the tarp.

Rose and Ianto stood up, turned and gasped at what they saw. Just like London, Paris was in total ruin. Houses were bombed out, rubble was everywhere and the top half of the Eiffel Tower was missing, leaving only a strange metal structure jutting up into the sky.

"Been workin' on that for some time," Charles said, pointing to it. "They're dismantling it to build something. Can't tell ya what though."

"Missiles, the Master's makin' missiles," Rose said to him.

"What? Are you serious? You mean he's gonna finish the job and destroy the rest of the world?"

"No, I think he's gonna make war with other planets," Rose replied grimly. "That's why we have to stop him."

"Aye and I hope you can," Charles replied.

He helped them down out of the truck.

"Wait a tic," he said.

He reached into the truck, grabbed a pen and a pad of paper and scribbled down an address.

"This is a friend of mine named Collette. She lives near here so you won't have far to walk. I would take you further but I have to get back to Theodore before he's discovered by the Toclafane."

"Thank you so much," Rose said.

"Yes, we can't thank you enough," Ianto added.

"Not a problem, I just hope you succeed with your mission. I wish you both the best of luck and be sure to punch the Master in the face for me."

They both smiled and nodded. They stood back, watched as Charles climbed into his truck and waited until he was on his way before both of them turned and headed into Paris.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty Eight

Blimey, this is getting depressing," Rose said as she and Ianto walked through the deserted streets looking for the address Charles had given them.

Once again people would occasionally come out of their houses and give them suspicious looks before hurrying back inside. A few men leered at Rose but because Ianto was with her they did nothing which Rose was thankful for. She was glad she found her new friend. He not only was a source of protection but she had someone she could talk to and share in her journey…besides John, of course. Rose glanced down into her jacket and saw John resting comfortably. He waggled a hello with his index finger and she did the same. She smiled when he patted her chest lovingly and she patted the outside of her jacket where his back was.

Finally, they found the address and Ianto knocked on the door of an old white house that had black shutters on the windows and 3 stone steps that led up to a black door. A woman opened the door. She was young, Caucasian with long black hair that was swept up into a loose bun. Her face was heart shaped with no makeup on and her eyes were dark green and haunted. She was wearing a shabby white shirt and black skirt with battered dress shoes.

"Oui?" she said.

"Parlez-vous Anglais?" Ianto asked.

"Yes, I speak English," she replied.

"Oh good, my name is Ianto Jones, this is Rose Tyler. Charles sent us."

"Scottish Charles?"

"Yeah."

"Oui, my name is Collette. Nice to meet you both. Come in, come in."

They stepped inside her house which was very modest. As they walked through it they saw evidence of Toclafane attack but it wasn't as bad as they houses they had seen in London. Collette led them into the kitchen and made them some tea while they rested at her table.

"So, what brings you to Paris?" she asked.

"We're traveling," Rose replied.

Collette gave her an odd look.

"Pardonez-moi, traveling? With the Toclafane all over the Earth?"

"We're telling people about this man called the Doctor," Ianto said.

"The Doctor? The man who is from outer space who saves people?"

Both of them perked up.

"Yeah, you saw Martha Jones?"

"Oui, she is staying at a friend's house, she gathered us all together last night and we listened to her story."

"Is staying? She's still here?" Rose said.

"Oui, the poor thing was tired so we gave her a place to rest and recover before she moves on," Collette said.

"Can you take us to her? We wanted to find her. We're on the same mission she is," Rose said.

Collette shrugged.

"If you wish to see her, I will take you. Follow me."

Rose and Ianto grinned at each other and followed Collette back out the door. They went with her down the street past three houses till they came to one that resembled Collette's house except they could see a lot more scorch marks on the outside walls and there were wooden boards over some areas of the windows where the Toclafane had blasted them out or barged their way inside. Collette knocked on the door.

"Yvette? Open up, it's Collette. I have two people who wish to see Mademoiselle Martha. "

The door opened and an elderly woman stuck her head out. She looked Rose and Ianto over and nodding, opened the door. Yvette had white curly hair that was shoulder length, a round face with a dimpled chin and granny glasses that perched on her nose. She was wearing a long flowered dress, loafers and a white shawl was draped around her shoulders.

"Mademoiselle is resting at the moment," Yvette said. "I'll go see if she's awake and wants to talk to these people. Go ahead and have a seat in the living room."

They nodded and went through the house to the living room. It was homey with several pictures on the white walls of family members and a little Pekinese that they assumed was her pet. The furniture was old and worn and they could see scorch marks on them. Rose and Ianto sat down on the sofa while Collette sat down in a leather chair nearby. A moment later Yvette returned with a young black woman following her. She looked weary and her long hair hung limply down her back but she managed a tired smile.

"Yvette said you wanted to see me, yeah?" she said.

"Yes, hi. My name's Rose Tyler and this is Ianto Jones. We've been searching for you and…"

She trailed off. She noticed the moment she said her name Martha got an odd look on her face and then she looked angry for a few seconds before she smiled again. Rose was puzzled about it but chose to remain silent for the moment while Yvette and Martha sat down in two overstuffed chairs across the way.

"Um…we escaped from the Valiant," Rose continued. "I was taken by the Master from my universe. He used the paradox machine to kidnap me and I found Ianto in London. He's Jack's lover."

She could see the shocked looks on Collette and Yvette's faces when she said that but Martha didn't freak out so she continued on.

"I was with the Doctor and Jack before they helped me escape. The Doctor didn't ask me to do this but Ianto and I want to help you on your mission."

Martha perked up at that.

"You wanna help me?" she said.

"Yes, and there's actually a third member of our group but we'll introduce you to him later."

Martha was puzzled by that but said nothing.

"It's nice to meet you. I've heard a bit about you, Rose. The Doctor's mentioned ya a couple of times."

Rose smiled at that but she noticed one again the flicker of anger that briefly lit in Martha's eyes before it faded.

"I'm sorry I never met ya before but you came after me," Rose said.

"And Jack never mentioned you either," Ianto said.

"Well, I only met Jack when he ran after the Doctor and got sent with us to the end of the universe. Are they alright? Both of them?"

"Um, they were when I left but the guards had nearly caught up with them and I think they surrendered. I have no idea what happened after that since I rode an escape pod down to London."

"And my family?" Martha asked. "My mum, dad and sister Tish?"

"I never saw them. We never found them, sorry."

Martha lowered her head to her hands and Rose's heart went out to her when she heard a brief soft sob escape her lips before she composed herself and put a brave smile on her face.

"If you want to help that'd be great. Lord knows I could use the help," she said. "Did the Doctor mention what you needed to do?"

"There was a woman in London you spoke with. She told us what you said and the instruction about saying the Doctor's name. Do you know anything more about that, what does it mean?" Rose said.

Martha smiled.

"The Doctor is using the clock and at a certain time he'll use this satellite system called the Archangel Network to tap into it's energy."

"For what?" Ianto said.

"Dunno, he didn't tell me that part. But the satellites link everyone together. It's how the Master was able to hypnotize them by using it to put a hypnotic subliminal beep on everyone's mobile. That's how he got everyone in the UK to vote for him. He wants to use that same principle in reverse and somehow link up with the satellites so if everyone thinks of him, the psychic energy will be beamed back to him. He also told me to make up a story about a gun that can kill Time Lords and the chemicals that are scattered around the world in case I am captured and they try to get a confession out of me. That's all he managed to tell me before he made me leave. I have a vortex manipulator though that allows me to teleport and that's how I got to Paris. I'm gonna use it to hop around the world since it's daft to go the whole way on foot."

"Halleluiah," Ianto said while Rose giggled. "Thank you. I'm so glad you have a way to cover long distances!"

"Yeah, I don't think I'd be able to make it otherwise. It was grueling just getting over here and unfortunately, I didn't cover all of England yet because the Toclafane are looking for me and I just wanted to get out of England before I was spotted."

"They know you were heading this way though. We saw reports from spies on your whereabouts," Rose said.

Martha cursed under her breath.

"It can't be helped, I s'pose. I have my perception filter at least. That protects me."

"You what?" Rose said.

Martha showed them the key and explained what it did.

"You don't have one?" she said.

"No but we have forged medical passes that will allow us to drive if we need to."

"You do? Brilliant!" Martha said. "You'll have to be careful though. I can hide from the Toclafane with this key. You two can't."

They nodded.

"We'll be as careful as we can be," Ianto said. "Hopefully with the passes, they'll accept us as medical workers and leave us alone."

Martha nodded.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. Hopefully with the three…or four of us working together we can get this over with and get back to the Valiant in time to see the Doctor defeat the Master. Now if you don't mind, I'm knackered and I'd like to sleep."

"Same here," Rose said.

"I can offer you my home," Collette said. "I have a sofa and a guest bedroom. You're welcome to use it."

"Well, wait, what about this third person?" Martha said.

"Oh don't worry, he sleeps with me," Rose said.

Martha was puzzled but Rose only gave her an enigmatic smile in return. She shrugged. For the moment, she was too tired to ask any more questions and she needed sleep. She was a little upset that Rose Tyler was here in the flesh, especially since she had feelings for the Doctor but the mission was more important and she was willing to put aside her feelings and work with her and Ianto and the mystery man they would introduce later. Both Rose and Ianto bid her goodnight and followed Collette back to her house. Martha thanked Yvette for waking her up, declined the offer of a cup of tea and with a sigh, carried her weary body back into the bedroom for a good night's sleep.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty Nine

The Master paced back and forth in his office, fuming that now there were two of the Doctor's companions running around making trouble for him. He glanced at the empty jar and silently amended his thought to three. He slammed his hand down on his desk.

"Nobody makes a fool of me. I swear I'll make them all pay!" he said aloud.

He looked over when his wife entered the room.

"Yelling isn't going to help anything, Harry," she said.

"I know that but it makes me feel better," he said. "I'm sick and tired of the Doctor getting the upper hand all the time. I aged the bastard in order to control him and yet he still finds ways to defy me."

"Then kill him."

The Master sighed angrily.

"I can't kill him, Lucy," he said in a patronizing tone of voice. "I want him to watch the start of my intergalactic war. Once he sees that all his so-called protection of the universe has been for naught and knows that I've finally won at last, then…I'll kill him."

"Then you're a fool, Harry."

The Master stared at her, stunned.

"Excuse me, I'm what now?" he said, not sure if he heard her right.

"A fool," Lucy replied.

The Master slowly came around the desk towards her.

"I don't believe that was called for," he said, glaring at her. "I believe that was completely out of line, Lucy."

"Well, it's the truth, Harry. You're an idiot for keeping that man alive and allowing him the chance to get the upper hand and…"

She was cut off mid-sentence when the Master slammed his fist into her mouth. Lucy was flung back against the wall and grunted when her spine hit it. The Master followed her and slammed his body against hers.

"I will not tolerate betrayal!" he snarled at her.

"I'm not betraying you, I'm trying to tell you the truth and…"

The Master hit her in her left eye.

"No, you're not telling me the truth. I will triumph over the Doctor and I won't hear any differently from anyone. Not my captives, not my guards and certainly not YOU!"

The Master smirked at the look of death Lucy was giving him.

"What's wrong, Sweetie? Don't like your punishment? You know it's only because I love you sooo much that I have to correct your behavior. You have to be cruel to be kind, yeah?"

Lucy grunted when he grabbed her upper arms and slammed her again into the wall before leaning in and mashing his mouth on hers. Lucy tried to struggle out of his grip but he was too powerful. She grunted through her nose when the Master slammed his body against hers and kissed her even more forcefully before he finally drew his head back. She gasped when he seized her throat and got in close, his eyes dark and menacing.

"You are my wife which means you will support and obey me and that means you will never, ever again refer to me as an idiot or a fool, is that clear, _my love_?"

Lucy swallowed hard and nodded.

"Good because it would oh so easy to take control of your mind and turn you into my puppet and I don't think you want that, do you?"

Lucy shook her head. The Master smirked and let go of her.

"Get out of here. I want to be alone for the moment," he said to her.

Lucy nodded and hurried out of the room while the Master let out a snort of contempt.

"Bloody humans, weak minded, the lot of em," he muttered as he walked over to his decanter of brandy to pour himself a drink.

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The Doctor sat outside his tent eating some chicken soup from a Styrofoam bowl. The guards had given him that along with two ham sandwiches and a juice box. Usually he was fed only one meal a day consisting of the soup, one sandwich and a juice box, but occasionally he would keep a sandwich and use it for another meal so he would have a bit more to enjoy. As he ate, he heard the door opening and lowered the bowl slightly when he saw Lucy closing the door and turning to face him. His eyebrow rose when he noticed her black eye and split lip. He said nothing, however, and went back to drinking his soup. He still ignored her even when she walked over to his side. He calmly took another sip of soup while Lucy stood over him and watched him quietly.

"You think you're so great, don't you?" she finally said.

The Doctor sighed softly through his nose, sat down the bowl of soup and looked up at her.

"Say what you have to say so I can finish my soup before it gets cold," he said to her.

"You won't get away with this," Lucy said.

"Won't get away with what?" the Doctor replied.

"Whatever it is you're planning," she said, bending down next to him. "You can't fool me, old man. You sit there pretending to do nothing but you're planning something, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. I'm planning to eat my sandwiches after I finish my soup," he replied.

He shrugged when Lucy gave him a look of death.

"I'm telling you the truth," he said to her. "And I'll tell you another truth on top of it. The Master is not a nice guy. I'm sure you've figured that out by now since he apparently roughed you up. I'm guessing he's the one who did it since you would have sounded the alarm if Jack or any of the other captives did it to you."

Lucy fell into an embarrassed silence for a few seconds.

"Harry did do this but it was only to correct me," she said.

"Why?"

"Because I doubted him. I told him that you would eventually triumph over him and he punished me for doubting him. And…he was right; I was an idiot to doubt him."

The Doctor shook his head.

"Lucy, you seem like an intelligent woman. You're not under his control, at least not hypnotically, so why are you here? You have to understand that the Master doesn't love anyone but himself. Everybody and everything is a tool, a means to an end, and that includes you. He doesn't have your best interests at heart. He'll use you and either abandon you in the end or kill you."

"No, Harry wouldn't kill me. He wouldn't do either one," Lucy said in a shaky voice.

"Lucy, I know him better than you do. I've fought him for centuries and I know his method of doing things. I don't know why he felt he had to marry you, perhaps he felt he needed a wife while he pretended to be prime minister, but there is a reason and it's not love. A loving husband doesn't beat his wife. Wake up and smell the coffee because you're in over your head here."

He noticed her thinking that over and his spirits lifted as he realized that he might be able to convince her to become an ally. He took her hands in his.

"Lucy, please," he pleaded, "please listen to me. Trust me. I'm not the villain here. Look all around you. Look at what he did to your planet. Listen to what he says. All this talk of conquering the Earth, is that how a sane man talks? I can help you. I can protect you but you have to trust me and turn away from him."

"No, I can't."

"Lucy, please, before you end up dead, do the right thing and help me to end all this."

"No!" Lucy said, jerking her hands away and getting up. "I've made my choice, for better or for worse. I'm married to Harry and I'm going to honor my vows."

"But will he honor his vows?" the Doctor countered. "You're making a huge mistake and I guarantee you'll live to regret it."

"No, it's you who'll live to regret it. You'll live to regret the day you tried to defy my husband," she said, straightening her spine and giving him a haughty look.

She smirked at his meager meal.

"I bid you goodnight, Doctor. I'm going to eat a nice meal with Harry. Enjoy your sandwiches and soup."

Lucy spun on her heel and walked back towards the door.

"Could you warm my soup back up then? It went cold while you were in here bothering me," the Doctor said to her.

Lucy ignored him. She opened the door, went through it and closed it. The Doctor shook his head sadly when he heard the door behind locked and went back to eating his meal.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

Rose yawned and sat up in bed. The moment she did, John jumped up on his fingers and walked over to her side.

"Good morning," she said, stroking his back. "Sleep well?"

John flipped onto his wrist and nodded. Rose picked him up and held him close.

"Ready to go meet Martha," she said, holding him out so he could sign to her.

_Already did, sorta, she saw me on Malcasairo,_ he signed.

"But not alive," Rose said.

_No,_ he signed.

"I have a feeling this is gonna be a bit awkward," Rose muttered.

She kissed his index finger and smiled when John laid his fingers against her lips in response. Sighing contentedly, she carried him into the bathroom so they could freshen up before meeting Ianto and Martha.

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After she met Ianto downstairs, they walked over to Yvette's house. Ianto had shaved his beard off and Rose had to admit the man was cute. She could see why Jack was so attracted to him. John rode inside her jacket and kept still while they went inside the house. Martha was up and sitting at the table eating a light breakfast of eggs and toast and tea. Yvette smiled at them and offered them the same meal. Both of them accepted and sat down while Yvette went to fill their plates and cups.

"I'm planning to head out today, is that alright?" Martha asked.

Both of them nodded. Martha glanced around.

"Where's this bloke that's traveling with you?" she asked.

Rose and Ianto glanced at each other.

"Um, he'll be along soon," Rose said as John vibrated with silent laughter.

Yvette sat their plates and cups and cutlery in front of them and they thanked her while they ate. She sat with them for awhile, drinking tea and making small talk with them until she finally finished her cup and moved back into her living room. It was then that Rose decided to let Martha know about John.

"The reason why we've been so secretive is John isn't exactly a normal person," Rose said softly. "I'm gonna let you meet him but I need to warn you beforehand because I don't want you screaming and altering Yvette. We need to keep him a secret, only me and Ianto know about him down here and now you'll know as well."

Martha was puzzled but nodded, waiting for her to go on.

"Martha, you remember when you were on Malcasairo and you saw the severed hand in Jack's jar?"

Martha rolled her eyes.

"Couldn't forget it if I tried. I don't know why he'd bring along a severed hand, surely there are other ways to detect the Doctor without resorting to body parts," she said, picking up her mug of tea.

She took a sip.

"But the hand is with the Master now, yeah? That's how the Doctor was aged."

"Yes, but the hand is with us at the moment."

Martha was taken aback.

"Why? So the Master can't use it again?"

Rose glanced at Ianto.

"Yes, that and…he's alive."

Martha paused mid sip and slowly lowered the mug.

"I'm sorry?" she said.

Her eyes bulged out when Rose reached in and brought John out, setting him on the table in front of her.

"Bloody hell, you carry that thing in your jacket?"

She gasped when John jumped up onto his fingers. She jumped backwards to get away from him and knocked over her chair.

"Mademoiselle, Monsieur, is everything alright in there?" Yvette said as she sat in the living room.

"Everything's fine, Ma'am, I got up too quickly and accidentally knocked my chair over," Rose called out.

Martha stared at the hand in fear and disgust.

"His name's John," Rose said calmly.

"You named it?"

"He's a he and no, he named himself," Rose said.

Martha looked at Ianto who shrugged.

"She's telling the truth, Martha. He's alive and he can somehow see and hear and he communicates by sign language."

John flipped up onto his wrist.

Hello, Martha, he signed.

Rose glanced at her.

"Do you understand the sign language alphabet because that's how he communicates with us."

"Yeah, I do. I took it at university so I'd be able to understand hearing impaired patients. I know he just said hello but…how is this possible?"

She leaned over the table towards John.

"You can see me and hear me?"

_Yes,_ he signed.

Martha held up three fingers.

"How many fingers am I holdin' up?"

_Three,_ John signed.

Martha shook her head in disbelief.

"This can't be real; it has to be a trick."

"Oh it's not a trick, I can assure you of that," Ianto said.

Martha stared at him and then had a thought. She looked at Rose.

"Wait, you said last night that he sleeps with you."

"Yes, he does."

Martha looked at her like she needed to be sectioned and fast.

"Rose, this is a severed hand," she said, pointing to John.

"I know but he's become so much more to me. Honestly, Martha, John has a soul as incredible as it may seem. He's got his own personality and I don't even think of him as a severed hand anymore. He's become my friend and my protector."

"Protector? What can he do? He's just a hand," Martha said.

Rose smirked.

"He can bounce on his wrist and grab someone's balls or punch em. He can do everything a hand can do to a person," she said. "He can walk, bounce, feel, see, hear and he communicates by sign language. He's a person, Martha. He's like the Doctor but in some ways he's his own man."

Martha reached out and tentatively touched his index finger. Her eyes widened in wonder when he pushed back.

"How long have you been alive?" she asked him.

_Since I fell off the Sycorax ship,_ he signed.

"Hold on, you mean you were alive when you were in the jar?"

_Yes._

"Oh my God, why didn't you say something?

_I did…to the Doctor. He was the only one I could trust at the time. I didn't know you and Jack…Jack acted creepy around me,_ he signed.

"So Jack doesn't know," Martha said to Rose.

"He does now. He showed himself on the Valiant," Rose said.

"Mademoiselles, Monsieur…"

"Quick John, hide," Rose hissed when they heard Yvette coming towards the kitchen.

She put John back inside her jacket and zipped it up. The three of them acted casual as Yvette came into the kitchen and smiled at them.

"Do you want anything more to eat?" she said sweetly.

The three of them shook their heads. Yvette started to clear up but Martha stopped her.

"That's okay, we can wash up," she said. "We need to get going anyway."

"So soon?" Yvette said, frowning. "Do you know what you're doing?"

The three of them nodded. Yvette shook her head.

"I would not risk my life to do what you are doing so I applaud your bravery," she said to them. "I only hope that you can keep yourselves alive long enough to stop the Master."

"So do we," Rose said. "But she's right, we'd love to stay but we have the whole wide world ahead of us and we need to tell others about the Doctor."

"But if you could tell your friends about him and have them tell others, we'd appreciate that," Martha said.

"Oui, Collette and I will do that. At least let me give you some food before you go."

They looked at each other and nodded.

"Let me prepare you something then," she said, going towards the refrigerator.

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After Yvette cooked them several things and packed them up, she and Collette stood in front of the front door of Yvette's home while Ianto, Martha and Rose stood in front of them.

"We wish you luck," Collette said as Yvette nodded. "And we will tell everyone we see about the Doctor and his message."

"Thank you," Martha said. "And thank you for your hospitality."

"Yes, we appreciate it," Ianto added.

"It is nothing, Monsieur. In fact, I wish to give you an address of a friend who might be able to shelter you once you get there. She lives a few kilometers east, just outside of Paris. She will give you food and shelter if you need it."

They thanked her. Collette and Yvette stood and waved at them and watched as they put their rucksacks on their back and headed off towards the east.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty One

Martha walked behind her new friends as they hurried through the rest of the city. She felt it odd that suddenly here she was walking beside the woman she had been jealous of for months on end. The woman who had captured the heart of the man she had grown to love, the man she wished would love her in the same way. When she was first given this assignment from the Doctor, she thought it was folly. She didn't see how she was going to complete an around the world trek and spread the news to everyone even if she did have the vortex manipulator. But she loved the Doctor so much that she was willing to go blindly at his command even if she wasn't completely sure how to go about it. As she walked behind Rose, she studied her intently. She was pretty but she wasn't gorgeous, certainly not the kind of woman men would throw themselves at. Martha had always imagined someone more statuesque, more like a supermodel than the simple girl before her. She always imagined a tart like Annalisa, someone who manipulated and seduced men like her dad until they were spending every last pence on her. Rose didn't seem the type. She seemed like a sweet, down-to-Earth kind of girl and slowly Martha felt her resentment and jealousy draining away.

Ianto also seemed like a nice guy. Very quiet and serious which surprised her because given what she knew about Jack, he didn't seem like his type. He was glad of his company though. Not because she couldn't handle herself. After all, she had learned much from the Doctor both directly and indirectly and it amazed her how she had gone from being a medical student to a warrior fighting the forces of evil in little less than a year. But the first night away from the Doctor was terrifying and lonely, especially with the Toclafane zooming around her head while they searched out prey. The screams and moans of unfortunate victims chilled her to the bone and more than once that night, she thanked the Doctor that he had come up with the idea of the perception filter. It worried her that her new friends didn't have the perception filters. If the Toclafane came along what were they going to do? She could probably loop the long string the key hung on around one of their necks and share the protection it afforded but not both of them.

Then there was John. Martha wasn't sure how to react to the little hand or to the slightly disturbing relationship that existed between him and Rose. She had seen many odd things since traveling with the Doctor and had gotten used to them but sleeping with a severed hand and treating it like a human being topped them all. She supposed that it would take some time for her to get used to John like Rose and Ianto had done but still the thought of the severed hand in the jar being alive and being fawned over by Rose was creepy to her on so many levels.

After awhile, Rose let John out of her jacket and the little hand scurried on ahead. Martha supposed it was keeping watch over them by the way it darted left and right. Again, her curiosity was peaked and she wondered how it could see and hear with no ears or eyes. The sight of John walking on his fingers seemed comical to her and any other time she would burst out laughing but all of them kept silent so they wouldn't draw any attention to themselves, not only from the Toclafane but also thugs and thieves who would rob and rape them if they could get away with it. The destruction of the city and the patrolling of the Toclafane had everyone on edge and Martha had witnessed more than one fight break out over nothing. These were dangerous, lawless times and they had to be careful or they'd end up dead.

Around noon, they stopped to rest on a bench on a street they deemed safe enough. John rested below it while the three sat together and made plans.

"So how did you go about informing the people about the Doctor?" Ianto asked Martha. "Did you just get everyone together in one big place and tell them?"

"Sorta. I would try to go to several different places each day and have someone gather all the people together that they could find and then I'd talk to them and at the end I'd ask them to spread the word.

"And everybody believed you, you didn't have anything thinkin' you were off your trolley?" Rose asked.

Martha chuckled.

"Oh there were quite a few people who thought that. I mean, it sounds daft when I tell it to people but I think for the most part people are willing to try anything now and they've told me they'll agree to call out the Doctor's name when the time is right."

"And so far, no one's realized what you're doing," Ianto said.

"I don't think so unless the Master has spies among the people which is a possibility," Martha said. "If I am caught, I have something I can show them that will hopefully throw them off the scent."

"What is it?" Rose asked as John came out from under the bench to have a look.

Martha paused and stared at him. John flipped onto his wrist and waved at her. Martha waved back and a small smile crept onto her face when John gave her a thumbs up. She reached into her rucksack and pulled out a black case. She unzipped it and showed them an air gun and three vials filled with colored liquid.

"One bloke I talked to was a scientist and he let me stay at his house on the way out of London. He had this and some test tubes so I asked him if I could have them because I thought of a story I could use if I were caught."

"And that is…" Ianto said.

"Well, Time Lords can't be killed because they regenerate into new bodies. But I took these test tubes, filled them with water and added a bit of dye and my story is that Torchwood figured out how to kill a Time Lord stone dead and they invented this gun and four chemicals that when combined would do the job. I decided on carrying around three test tubes because I'll say that I needed to travel the world to find these chemicals because Torchwood hid them in different locations and I haven't found the last one yet. Course if we get captured early, which I hope we won't, I'll only show em one or two vials. It's not the best lie I've ever come up with but if it prevents them from learning the Doctor's true mission, it'll be worth it."

John wondered to himself if that was a real possibility. He hated the thought of any one of his friends being captured and tortured by the Master. He knew the Master was capable of many things and wouldn't show them any mercy especially if it meant finding out the Doctor's plans. The thought of them screaming filled him with fear and dread and he resolved to do everything in his power to protect them. He noticed Martha staring at him with that odd look on her face and he wondered if she was going to be doing that the entire time they were together. He admitted that it wasn't normal for a hand to be alive but Rose and Ianto had accepted him without any problem. Then again, Rose and Ianto hadn't seen him floating in a jar on a table in the year one hundred trillion. In the end it really didn't matter to him if she accepted him or not. Rose loved him and that was all that mattered to him.

After resting a bit, they ate some ham sandwiches and drank juice boxes. While they were doing that, John decided to explore the nearby surroundings, both to protect his friends and just out of sheer curiosity. He went under the bench and walked around the pavement, looking at the abandoned shops and cafes. One café had an outdoor patio and John noticed that the door leading out to it was ajar. He walked over to it and peeked inside for a moment. Confident no one was inside, he went through and began to explore. The café had been open during the initial attack since there were dishes left on the dusty tables with moldy food on them. John could only imagine the smell of the food and was thankful he didn't have a nose. There were overturned tables and chairs with broken dishes and glasses all over the floor. John went around them, careful not to get any porcelain or glass shards in his fingertips.

"Depressin', isn't it?"

John turned around and saw Rose walking towards him. He flipped up onto his wrist.

_Be careful, glass,_ he signed.

Rose nodded.

"It's terrible, all this devastation," Rose said, bending down next to him. "I don't know how the Doctor's gonna piece all this back together but I sure hope he can."

She bent down and stroked his back.

"John, I get the funny feeling Martha doesn't like me very much but I can't figure out why. I just see her giving me these weird looks every once in awhile and then she looks away if I catch her doin' it. I don't know what I did to her though, I barely know her."

John thought about that. He hadn't noticed Martha looking at Rose but his attention had been focused on their surroundings and any sign of the Toclafane.

_I'm sure she likes you, Rose,_ he finally signed. _She's probably trying to adjust to us being here especially since she was on her own before. _

Rose lowered her voice.

"Yeah, but…I think she's upset because I traveled with the Doctor and now she's doin' it and maybe it's sorta like the situation between me and Sarah Jane. When I saw Sarah Jane, I was jealous because up until then I thought the only companions he ever had were me and Jack and I thought I had been his only female companion. Maybe Martha's the same way. Maybe the Doctor didn't tell her about me."

_That could be a possibility,_ John signed. _If that's the case, then she's probably in shock and needs time to adjust to you being here. Don't worry, Rose. I think you and her will be friends in time._

Rose nodded.

"Yeah, I hope so. That's what happened with me and Sarah Jane. We worked out our differences and became good friends. God, Sarah Jane, I hope she's not dead and…

_Rose , hide!_ John signed.

Rose didn't think, she quickly scooped John up and hid behind an overturned table with him just as a Toclafane entered the building and began to search around.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty Two

Rose was sure that the Toclafaine could hear her rapidly beating heart as she and John lay in the shadows behind an overturned table. So far the Toclafaine hadn't come her way but it was only a matter of time. She was holding her breath, taking only quick breaths before holding it again. John lay beside her on the floor and Rose's hand was on top of his, trying to comfort both him and herself. She glanced down when John suddenly rose up on his fingers. She lifted her hand when he walked over to her face. He then flipped up on his wrist.

_I'm gonna create a diversion,_ he signed to her.

Before she could react, he scurried away. Rose's eyes widened in horror when she heard the Toclafaine firing at him and her heart lurched while she said a silent prayer that John would be alright. She noticed that the laser blasts were growing fainter and she realized John was leading the Toclafaine out of the restaurant. She lay there, now frightened that the thing would shoot John and kill him, although she did wonder if he could ever really die but she did know that he could be hurt and that was just as frightening.

She lay there for what seemed like ages, barely breathing, and then she heard a scuffling and she let out a sigh of relief when John walked around the table. He walked up to her face, flipped onto his wrist and signed to her.

_I led it away and then hid. It was looking for me and then it got distracted by a bird and chased it,_ he signed.

"Oh thank God, I was so worried," Rose said softly. "I was praying that thing wouldn't hurt or kill you."

John was motionless for a moment and Rose wondered if he was thinking about her remark. Then he bent his hand and patted her cheek lovingly. Rose lifted her hand and kissed his index finger and laughed softly when John shivered with pleasure at that. She looked up when Martha and Ianto leaned over the table.

"Are you okay?" Ianto asked.

"Yeah, John led it away from me."

"We saw him doing that. We were hiding behind some shrubs," Martha said. "That was very brave of him to do that."

John flipped onto his fingers and did a little bow which made Martha smile. Rose got up onto her knees and dusted herself off before she picked John up. Then she got up and all of them slowly walked towards the door. They looked out but they couldn't see the Toclafaine or any other Toclafaine anywhere in the vicinity. They stepped out of the restaurant and looked around, trying to find any Toclafaine in the distance before they were spotted.

"Rose and I have been waiting till nightfall to head out," Ianto said to Martha, "I think, given the circumstances, we should continue doing that."

"Yeah, I'm protected by the perception filter but you and Rose aren't and they can attack you at any time. We'll lay low during the day and at night we can go on ahead and take turns using the perception filter if we need to go out during the day to forage."

Rose and Ianto nodded. Rose held John close to her heart while the three of them quickly looked for somewhere safe to hide.

(The Valiant…)

The Master slammed his hand down on the wooden desk in his office, startling Lucy who was sitting on a nearby leather sofa reading a magazine.

"I can't believe this. How hard is it to find some fugitives carrying a bloody severed hand and eliminate them?" he said.

"Trouble, darling?" Lucy said in a bored voice.

"There'll be trouble for the Toclafaine if they don't carry out my orders and eliminate Tyler and Jones and that bleedin' hand of the Doctor's," he growled. "It can't be that hard to find them."

"You're talking about the Doctor's companions, darling," Lucy said. "You know he picks the brainy ones."

"Yeah," the Master said, reluctantly conceding the point. "Well, it's only a matter of time. With my children roaming the Earth, they can't stay alive forever. But where, where are they? That old geezer told Martha something and I wanna know what it is!"

"He won't tell you," Lucy said with a sigh, "you've tried to get him to tell you before and he won't do it. You're just wasting your time."

"Perhaps, but I'm bored and depressed and making that bastard scream might cheer me up," the Master said.

Lucy watched as he stomped out of the room. Shaking her head sadly, she turned a page and went back to reading her magazine.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was sitting outside his little canvas tent, doing his usual tuning into the Archangel satellites, preparing himself for the day Martha would return in time for the countdown to end. He heard the lift stop and the lift door slide open. He opened one eye and watched as the Master made a beeline for him. He stiffened his body, figuring the Master was gonna backhand or punch him. But instead, he stopped right in front of the Doctor and stared down at him. The Doctor returned his gaze with a calm, almost bored look.

"Something the matter?" the Doctor asked him.

"You think this is funny, don't you?" the Master said.

"I rarely thing anything is funny nowadays but I'll take the bait. What do you think I think is funny?"

"How come my children can't kill your companions?"

"If you're referring to those freakish Toclafaine things, I would have to answer that I suppose my companions are smarter than your tennis balls," the Doctor replied. "As for the fact that they're being hunted, I don't find that funny in the least. I find it very repulsive. I find the fact that you used innocent humans to take over the world very, very repulsive and I'm glad my friends are stopping you."

He calmly gazed at the Master who was fuming at him.

"I'll ask you one more time, what did you tell Jones?"

"I told her to take two pairs of underwear when she was out traveling the world. Never know when you need to change your smalls, you know."

"I'm being serious," the Master said through clenched teeth.

"So am I. There's nothing worse than soiled smalls when you're out on the road."

He grunted when the Master slapped him hard across the face.

"I'm losing patience with you, old man," the Master snarled as he got down in his face. "I've been very merciful up till now but that could change in a heartsbeat and you'll find yourself screaming in constant torment."

"Like Jack is doing?" the Doctor said angrily. "I hear his screams and let me assure you that the more you harass and hurt my friends, the angrier I get and you know what happens when I get so angry I can't control myself."

The Master smirked.

"You have loss of bodily functions?" he said. "Puh-leeze, I knew you back when you were just a little boy. Your threats don't scare me, especially since you're now old and feeble."

"Ah but you better watch that," the Doctor said. "After all, I could drop dead of a hearts attack any minute and I will regenerate and become young again and then you have a very young and pissed off Doctor to deal with. That's why you haven't killed me yet. Risk I might just regenerate and get my revenge for what you've done."

"That and seeing you as a living prune amuses me."

"I wouldn't be so smug if I were you. You've already underestimated my companions. I gather that from the fact you're in here whinging about how you can't kill them. I wouldn't celebrate my victory yet…old friend."

The Master clenched his jaw when it was the Doctor's turn to look smug.

"Now…why don't you go and see if you can find my companions and if you find my hand, give him a little pat on his handy back for inheriting my brains. As for me, I'm knackered. Old, you know, can't sit for long and rabbit on like this. Ta ta."

"You won't think it so funny when I have Rose and Martha and the hand burning at the stake in front of you so if I were you, I'd hold my tongue because I'm not the only one making the mistake of underestimating someone."

The Doctor watched while he stomped off. When he had his back turned, he allowed himself a triumphant smile.

"Ah, my girls and my faithful little hand, keep going because I just looove how frustrated you're making the Master," he muttered to himself as the Master got back in the lift and the door slid shut.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty Three

Rose, Martha and Ianto found another abandoned warehouse to hide in. They moved deep into the interior of it, trying to get away from the sight of the Toclafane. They found the break room near the center of it and put down their gear. There were two large windows on both sides of the cinderblock building and at the back; a TV was mounted on the wall. Underneath it were several vending machines. Some of them still had food in it and Ianto studied them, seeing if he could find a way to open them and get at the food still inside. Martha turned on the TV to test it and found it still worked. She flipped through the channels while Rose laid their sleeping bags out under the window on the left side. John watched her and helped her straighten them out when she laid them down. She gave him a fond smile when he pulled on the end of her sleeping bag and straightened it out.

"Wonder how long it's gonna take to get through Paris?" she said to John. "We don't have all the time in the world."

_We'll find a way,_ he signed to her.

"Yeah, we've been lucky so far but I'm just worried about the Doctor. I wish there was a way we could get him here so he wouldn't have to stay with the Master and keep on being tortured. What if he kills him while we're gone?"

_He won't, he's too valuable to him,_ John signed. Besides, _I doubt he'd kill him even if he wasn't._

"Why is that?" Rose said as she straightened Martha's sleeping bag.

John was silent and Rose gave him a questioning glance. Then he came nearer to her before he signed to her again.

_They were lovers once._

Rose's eyes nearly popped out of her skull.

"Seriously?" she said. "The Doctor's gay?"

_More like bisexual but what he and the Master had was mainly a fling at the Academy. Same sex relationships weren't that unusual. It never carried the stigma that some people give it here. _

"But even if the Doctor no longer loves him, the Master still fancies him?" Rose said.

_Perhaps but he loves toying with the Doctor, cat and mouse and all that,_ John signed.

"So…you're saying this whole aging thing is giving him some kind of perverse thrill that he's getting off on?" Rose said.

_Dunno, but I know that he likes seeing the Doctor helpless and in his power, that's why they call him the Master. _

"There must be some way to get him away from there," Rose said, shaking her head.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Martha. She pointed to the TV and Rose picked up John and turned so she could see what was going on. She noticed there were photos of her and Martha and Ianto on TV as part of a terror alert.

"They're calling us terrorists when the true terrorist is sitting high up in the sky," Martha said to Rose.

"So now we're not only gonna be hunted by the Toclafane but the survivors will be after as well," Rose said as Ianto came up behind her.

"I have a feeling the survivors will be less likely to hunt us down than the Toclafane," Ianto said. "After all the Master's done, they won't turn in people who are trying to stop them."

"All the same, I think we better leg it out of Paris as fast as possible," Martha said. "I'll use my perception filter and try to find someone who can take us to Yvette's friend. Even if I have to trade talking to another group of people for it, it'll be worth it. You and Ianto stay here and rest up. I'll be back soon."

They nodded and Martha patted John's back when he waved goodbye at her. Martha grabbed her rucksack and headed out while Rose, John and Ianto finished watching the transmission. After the terror alert ended, a similar one came on but in French.

"They're making sure they know who we are," Rose said to Ianto.

"Yeah, but like I said, I doubt people will be rushing to turn us in," Ianto said. "Are you gonna stay here because I was gonna try to find a storage cupboard and find some tools so we can get at those crisps. I know we have food but I'm bored and it's something to do."

Rose chuckled.

"Yeah, we'll be here," Rose said to him.

Ianto patted her shoulder and walked out of the room. Rose continued to watch the broadcast even though she only had a rudimentary understanding of French.

"They're not gonna stop until we're dead," she said to Jonathon. "How are we gonna keep fighting off those Toclafane, especially since we only got one perception filter with us? It seems hopeless, John. We can't travel the world and just expect the Master to stop his hunt for us."

John bristled with anger at what the Master was doing, to his friends and to the Doctor. He kept trying to give Rose hope that they could make it through this nightmare world but it was getting harder and harder with each passing moment to keep her spirits up.

_Please turn it off, it's depressing you,_ he signed to her.

"Yeah, it is. You're right, shouldn't be watching this," Rose said, going over and turning it off.

John looked at the vending machine. He snapped his fingers and pointed at it. Rose turned to it and looked down at him.

_Put me in the slot, maybe I can get you a bag of crisps,_ he signed.

Rose raised her eyebrow.

"Ianto just went to look for some tools to open it and you could have gotten into it all along?" she said.

_Perhaps, but it would take time to get all the food, I just wanted to get you one bag of crisps,_ John signed.

"Better not let Ianto see you then," Rose said as she walked over to the slot at the bottom of the vending machine.

She pushed back the metal flap and set John inside it. She let go of the flap and knelt down beside the machine, watching what John did. She giggled when John sprung up and grabbed the second rack, hanging onto an empty metal ring that kept the food in place. He hung there for a moment while Rose watched with fascination. Then he gathered up his strength and managed to propel himself up to the next level where a bag of barbecued crisps was nestled. He paused again and then took a short spring to the top of the crisp bag, the weight of his hand caused the bag to go to the side and it and John fell back to the bottom. He lay flat as Rose opened the flap and took the bag out. She put it on the linoleum floor and then took him out.

"I'm beginning to wonder if there's anything you can't do," Rose said. "Now…go into the drinks machine and fetch me a Coke."

She giggled when John twisted his hand left and right in a no response. She stroked the back of his hand and picked him up along with the bag. She walked to a wooden table by the sleeping bags, set John on it and pulled out a wooden folding chair. John laid himself on the table and rested while Rose opened the crisps bag and ate her snack.

The Doctor sat in front of his tent, twiddling his thumbs. He had finished his dinner and the tray with the empty plate and glass sat beside him, waiting to be taken away. Nothing fancy, just spaghetti and garlic bread with some milk. He had to admit it was good, whoever made it knew how to cook but this was the sixteenth day in a row he'd had spaghetti for supper and he was tired of it. Being confined for long periods of time always made him antsy and he knew he had a long wait ahead of him before Martha, Rose and Ianto returned. He spent a great deal of time thinking about them and wondering if they were okay. He didn't know Ianto that well but he knew he used to be one of Jack's team and he knew Jack well enough to know that he allowed only the best to work with him so he was sure that all three of them could survive. Not to mention his hand was with him. A smile spread over his face as he thought of his hand looking after Rose for him. He also wanted him to be safe.

He looked to his left when the door opened and he knew it was someone coming to get the dinner tray. But to his surprise, Lucy came into the room by herself. The Doctor watched her quietly, staring at the large purple bruise on her right cheek. He sighed angrily and shook his head. Lately, he'd been seeing a lot more signs of abuse on Lucy and it sickened him that she was also falling victim to the Master's abuse.

"Good evening," he said, trying to be polite.

Lucy walked up to him and stared down at him.

"Harry is angry," she said to him.

"And that's big news because…"

"He's angry because your friends keep escaping him."

"Is that why he put his hands on you then? Venting his anger on the nearest thing?"

Lucy lowered her eyes and her hand fluttered up to the bruise.

"No, this is for something different," she said.

"Really? What caused him to give you that bruise?"

"I…wouldn't have sex with him," Lucy muttered.

"I see. And the Master doesn't like people not obeying his commands, right?"

Lucy sighed angrily and looked at her hands.

"He's being unfaithful to me with the girls who give him his massages," Lucy muttered as she stared at the ground. "I hate that and I told him I wouldn't have sex with him since he's been getting enough sex as it is and he beat me."

"And this is what you want in a marriage? A megalomaniac who beats you if you don't cater to his every whim? Why did you even agree to all this? You're not evil. What do you see in him? Millions of people dying every day and you stand at his side and just gloat. This is your planet, your people, don't you care?"

Lucy hesitated while the Doctor's eyes bored into her as he waited for her to respond. She looked down at the floor.

"Harry is good to me," she murmured.

"As long as you obey him, that is," the Doctor said.

"Look, I don't have to listen to you…"

"No, that's your problem, you don't listen to anyone," the Doctor said, cutting her off. "You keep rationalizing everything away because you like being powerful and you like that "Harry" can you provide you with everything you desire, but it comes at the cost of your species suffering down below, not to mention the suffering of the people on board this ship. Is it all worth it, Mrs. Saxon? Is all that pain and suffering worth a diamond necklace or a round of hot sex with the Prime Minister of the ruined and burning Earth. For your sake, I hope he doesn't become bored with you because you aren't gonna like it when he tries to get rid of you. And believe me, it won't be pretty. He uses people, Lucy, I keep telling you that. You might have deluded yourself into thinking he loves you but you're little more than a pawn on a chessboard to him. I've known him far longer than you have and he'll never change, even if he has found love, which I seriously doubt he has."

"What about you? Don't you have a lover down on Earth? Rose, isn't it?"

The Doctor's eyes flashed anger.

"I'm not like Harry, I don't abuse Rose and force her to do things she doesn't want to do," he said. "I don't beat the crap out of her if she doesn't want to service me, can you say the same about your husband?"

Lucy didn't respond. She picked up his dinner tray and glared at him silently for a moment before she turned and walked towards the door.

"You can spend your entire life in denial if you want to, Lucy Saxon," the Doctor muttered to himself as she left. "But when the time comes to undo the damage and stop the Master, you'll be stopped along with him. If you want to stick with him while he conquers the world, you'll stick with him during his downfall."


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty Four

"I'm back," Ianto said as he came back into the break room, "found some tools. Might come in handy. Not only for the fruit machines, but also as tools to break into houses."

"Or weapons," Rose said while Ianto walked over to the vending machines and looked through the battered metal tool chest he found.

"Yes and we'll need all the weapons we can get against the Toclafane."

"Oh by the way, John managed to get in there and get a bag of crisps for me," Rose said.

"Oh, now you tell me," Ianto said while Rose giggled. "I went and got this for nothing."

"No, because you can get at the food faster, he's only one hand, you know," she said, stroking the back of John's hand. "He just got me one bag of crisps but it took a lot to get it. So, you can get at the food faster."

"If I can do it," Ianto said, examining the side of the vending machine. "If not, we'll still have food. Like I said, just doing this out of boredom really."

He examined the lock on the side while Rose finished eating her crisps.

"Do you think about Jack a lot?" Rose asked Ianto.

"Sometimes. Most of the time I try not to think about what they might be doing to him," Ianto said. "What about you? Do you think about the Doctor?"

"All the time," Rose murmured. "I'm scared they might be hurting him. Especially since the Master aged him so much. It wouldn't take much to break his bones or bring him near death. I'm scared he might die before we get back up there."

"I don't have that worry when it comes to Jack," Ianto said. "Whatever they do to him, he comes back to life."

"That was me, I did that to him," Rose said. "It's because of me that he can't die."

John rose up and walked over to her hand. Rose smiled when he took hold of it and she gave his hand a squeeze.

"I know I'm feeling guilty and I shouldn't because I was just trying to bring him back to life but I never should have done that since I had no idea how powerful the Bad Wolf really was."

"Well," Ianto said, looking at her. "What's done is done and you can't take it back now. Jack's been through many things and he's been able to survive because of what you did so I really can't fault you for that. You didn't do it out of malice so I can't be angry. Besides, I've never known Jack when he was mortal so I'm used to him being like that. Don't feel guilty, Rose. We have to concentrate on other things right now."

Rose nodded. She decided to go for a walk and told Ianto she was going with John to explore the warehouse. Ianto nodded and handed her a spare torch from the tool box. She put John on the floor and they walked towards the door while Ianto continued to work on the vending machine. The rest of the warehouse was drafty and quiet and Rose was a bit creeped out as the sun began to set and the light began to dim. There were enormous shelves filled with wooden crates. She walked over to one while John followed her and tried to look in one but each one had a lid on it that was nailed shut.

"Maybe we can find a prybar," she said to John. "There might be something useful in here."

They headed away from the shelves in search of a prybar. As they were searching, Rose noticed the lavatories. She looked at John who was still following her.

"I wanna use the loo, wanna come in with me?" she teased as she pointed to the women's lavatory.

John gave her the thumb's up and Rose chuckled. She held open the door and John went in. She went in after him and John waited near the first sink while she went to the stall farthest from the door.

"Blimey, it stinks in here, John, be thankful you have no nose," Rose said as she closed the stall door. "I think someone forgot to flush during the attack."

John turned and casually walked towards the first stall. He froze when he could see plimsols and the legs of blue jeans from his perspective. He tentatively walked under the stall and froze when he saw the dead and decaying body of a woman. He could see a blast wound on her stomach and the woman was slumped back, her decaying head was towards the ceiling while her jaw hung wide open. John walked out of the stall and headed towards Rose.

"Oi," she teased when he walked under her stall, "a little privacy would be nice."

_Dead body in the first cubicle,_ he signed to her. _That's what you smell._

The smile fell off Rose's face. She quickly finished up and flushed the toilet. She came outside and walked to the first stall. She opened the door and grimaced when she saw the corpse.

"They were killing people in the loo?" Rose said to John as he came up beside her. "They really did mean business."

_She could have been injured and came in here to hide and died here,_ John signed.

"Yeah, that makes more sense than the Toclafane killing her on the bog," Rose said.

She quickly washed her hands and dried them and left the lavatory with John. By this time, it was dark enough to use the torch so Rose picked John up and put him on her shoulder so he wouldn't get lost. John gripped her shoulder and she stayed away from the windows while they explored. She noticed a wrapping machine and some boxes were still on the long conveyor belt leading up to it. She walked over, sat John down on the conveyor belt and shone her torch down on the box as she opened it up.

"DVD's? Is this what they store here?" Rose said, pulling out one from inside the box. "Um…this says Busty Babes Twelve. What is this, a porn warehouse?" she said while John shook with laughter. "Okay, so if we find a DVD player and hook it up to the TV, we'll have something else to watch besides our faces. I wonder if all of this is porn then?"

She picked up another one.

"Ooo, John, here's Alien Sluts From the Planet Mars, that's definitely for you," she said while John shook with laughter.

Rose laughed when John flipped onto his wrist and gave her a thumbs up to that. She pulled out another one.

"Hmmm, here's Ho White and the Seven Pimps, always like a bit of Disney with my porn," she said while John laughed. "So, I s'pose we'll spend the night looking at porn then," she added, putting everything back in the box.

She shined the lights on the shelves filled with crates.

"So…are all these porn because we're gonna be very busy," Rose said while John shook with laughter. \

She shined the light around and put John on her shoulder as they walked on. They passed by an open storage cupboard and went inside. They noticed another rotting corpse on the floor. The man was dressed as a maintenance worker and he had been stabbed in the head. Rose grimaced and turned her back on it. She shined her light on the shelves and smiled when she saw a prybar on the top shelf. She grabbed it and looked at everything else on the shelf. She didn't find anything other than chemicals and cleaning supplies so they went back out. By now it was completely dark.

"Wonder if Martha's back yet? I hope she's not out roaming around in the dark. Especially since she can't turn on a torch without those Toclafane noticing," Rose said as they headed back to the break room.

As they were walking, Rose suddenly heard growling off to her left and froze. She swung the torch in the direction of the growling and gasped when she saw a huge Rottweiler. The dog was growling at her as it stood over the remains of a woman. Rose swallowed hard and backed up.

"Nice doggy, go back to eating," Rose said while the dog's growl grew louder and it bared its teeth. "We're just going to go away and leave you alone now."

She froze when she heard another growl off to her left. She swung the torch around and saw a second Rottweiler was approaching. The second Rottweiler opened his mouth and snarled at her. Rose swung the torch back to the first Rottweiler. It was also advancing towards her and Rose swallowed hard, readying her prybar as the two dogs slowly came towards her.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty Five

Rose looked from one dog to the other as she tried to strategize. Both Rottweilers were large and both of them would be on her in a heartbeat. She could only hit one of them at a time and while she was knocking one in the head, the other would have her in its jaws. Not to mention John would be torn to pieces and devoured. She figured John knew that since he hadn't moved from her shoulder. She yelled as loudly as she could for Martha and Ianto hoping one of them would hear her. One of the dogs came close to her and she swung the prybar at it catching the dog on the snout. The dog yipped in pain and stopped but it only shook its head and then growled at her some more while Rose tried desperately to think of a way out of her situation. Then just when the dogs were about to spring, she heard a gunshot and saw the flash as a bullet went out of a gun up towards the ceiling.

"Get away from her!" a man yelled.

He fired again and the dogs ran off. A grizzled looking man emerged from the shadows. He had a full beard and dirty sandy blonde hair. His clothes were rumbled and dirty. Rose held the prybar protectively across her body and the man held up his hand.

"Easy, lady, I just saved your life. I don't mean ya any harm," he said. "I'm James Smithson."

"Rose Tyler," Rose said, lowering the prybar slightly. "You're not French."

"No, Ma'am, I'm from Texas. My wife and son were with me on vacation here in Paris when those ball things attacked us. My wife and son were killed."

"I'm sorry," Rose said, taking his hand when she saw the anguished look on his face.

"Thanks. I managed to escape and I've been hiding from those things and trying to survive. I found this place a couple of weeks ago and I've set up camp here. But, you really need to be careful here, ma'am. I don't know if you know this but a lot of animals have gone wild, especially after eating the corpses. They have a taste for human meat and they tend to roam at night."

"I see that now. We've been traveling from London and this is the first time I've ever came across wild dogs like that."

"Most animals that were left behind have turned feral, ma'am. It's not safe to be out after dark where they can smell ya. Why are ya travelin' though? That's not safe either or I would have left long ago."

"It's a long story but there's three others besides me. Why don't you come and spend the night with us for protection. We're in the break room."

"That's kind of ya, ma'am."

"Rose."

"Rose. I like that, it fits a pretty gal like ya," James said.

"Thank you," Rose said.

James frowned when he finally saw John on her shoulder.

"Um…Rose, you have a body part on your shoulder, let me get that off of ya," he said, reaching for John.

"Uh, no, actually he's with me," Rose said, backing up.

"With you? What is it, like a lucky charm?"

"No, he's…alive."

"Beg pardon?"

He was stunned when John jumped down off of Rose's shoulder and he skittered back when John came towards him.

"Shit! What the hell is that thing?" James said.

"It's okay, I know it sounds bizarre but this is John and he's alive," Rose said.

James froze and stared at John when he flipped onto his wrist and waved to him.

"How…" James said, trailing off when he couldn't finish his thought.

"I'm not sure how. He used to belong to a friend of mine and he got his hand cut off and somehow the hand came to life and it can think and move and it can talk using sign language. It was odd at first but you get used to him."

"Damn, now I've seen everything," James said. "First those flying ball things and now a living hand. World has become bizarre that's for damn sure."

"Well, come with us, we'll go back to the break room and I'll introduce you to Ianto."

James nodded and followed her. They used their torches, shining them all around in case there were any more wild dogs. They reached the break room and entered. Ianto was sitting on his sleeping bag.

"Couldn't break into it," Ianto said with a shrug. "But like I said, it was more out of boredom than anything else that I did it. Who's he?"

Rose introduced James and explained what happened. Ianto rose and shook James's hand.

"You're welcome to stay here with us. We don't have much but we have some food and I think I have a fresh set of clothes that might fit you."

"Thank ya kindly, Ianto," James said.

"I also have a spare razor if you want to shave," Ianto said.

"That would be great, thanks," James said.

Ianto rummaged through his rucksack and found a clean shirt, trousers and a razor for James. He thanked them and started to head back out the door.

"Wait, will you be alright?" Rose said, taking his arm.

"Yeah, I know how to move through this building. Besides, I need to go get my stuff and bring it back. I'll be alright. See you in a bit."

Rose let go and he turned his torch back on and went back out into the warehouse. Rose sat John down on the floor and sank onto her sleeping bag while Ianto pulled out a few bags of crisps and some pop for James.

"Have you heard from Martha?" Rose said to him.

"No, I was hoping you had. She's been gone for hours, I hope she's alright," Ianto said.

"Maybe she found someone and had to talk about the Doctor in exchange for a ride," Rose said. "Speaking of, what about James. Should we take him with us? He's lost his family and there's nothing tying him here. He could help us."

"We'd have to explain to him about the Doctor," Ianto said.

"Yeah but he can help protect everyone and we can protect him. That and forage, he could do that rather than talk to people but he seems nice and I don't wanna leave him here."

"We'd have to explain about the Doctor being an alien," Ianto said.

"I just got through explaining about John being a living hand, I think he might be willing to accept anything after that," Rose said.

"We also need some guns if there are wild dogs roaming the streets. I don't fancy the idea of being mauled by a Chihuahua," Ianto said.

Rose settled back on her sleeping bag. John came up to her head and she chuckled.

"We forgot the porn," she said to him and he shook with silent laughter.

"Porn?" Ianto said.

"We found porn DVDs. I think that's what they store here, at least they store DVDs," Rose said.

"Porn DVDs would be more entertaining than the constant alerts about it. I check the TV and they're still running," Ianto said. "The only thing that wasn't a terror alert was some speech by the Master saying how benevolent he was and how we should all fall to our knees and kiss his ass in thanks for his mercy or some rubbish like that."

"Did he show the Doctor?" Rose said.

"No, it was him sitting in his office," Ianto said. "No sign of anyone else. I s'pose he gets bored from time to time and just films these little sanctimonious speeches as if he's some benevolent ruler and we're his ungrateful subjects who don't recognize his greatness."

"Well, he won't be thinking that when we get back up there and stop him for good," Rose said, rubbing John's back while he lay beside her.

Ianto looked at the door when James came back in. He had discarded his dirty clothes and had shaved and put the clean ones on. He was carrying a battered red sleeping bag and a small rucksack.

"Thanks for letting me sleep with ya'll," he said to them as he came over towards Rose and laid his sleeping bag down a few feet away.

"You're welcome," Rose said, sitting up. "We were just talking and we wanted to know if you want to come with us when we leave."

"Go where?" James said, glancing at her as he straightened out his sleeping bag.

"We're trying to go around the world," Rose said.

James froze and slowly turned his head to look at her in disbelief.

"Why?" he said.

"Just go ahead and get settled in," Ianto said. "And we'll explain everything when you're finished."


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty Six

It took a couple of hours to explain to James what was going on. While they were talking, James just sat there and stared at them, slack jawed, as they explained about the Doctor and the Master being aliens and how they needed to go around the world to tell people about them. James shook his head when they finished.

"I would say you two are bonkers except I can tell you're not," he said. "So, you're honestly gonna do this for this Doctor fella?"

"I'd do anything for him," Rose said. "He's a wonderful man, James; I hope you get to meet him someday. He changed my life."

"And that's his severed hand," James said, pointing to John.

"Yup, his magical severed hand," Rose said, patting John's back.

"So, he's got one hand then," James said.

"No, he has two. He grew another one right after he regenerated," Rose said.

"Jesus. And I thought I'd heard some wild stories in my time. Um…as for travelin' with ya…after everything you've told me…I don't know why, but I actually do wanna go with ya. Maybe it's just curiosity, maybe it's just the need to help ya'll out but if you'll have me, I'll join ya on this crazy crusade of yours."

"Thank you," Rose said. "We'll all look out for one another and help each other through this."

"I hope so because after seeing those…Toclafane things in action, I don't think ya'll will stand a chance unless we all work together."

"My thoughts exactly," Ianto said. "Speaking of working together…wonder what's keeping Martha?"

"Maybe she spent the night with someone rather than risk coming back here," Rose said.

"That could be. I hope she did, especially if there are wild dogs out there. For now, why don't you and James get some sleep and I'll keep my eyes open for her and just keep watch in general. We can use the prybar in the morning to open these fruit machines and get the food. I don't feel like doing it now. Anyway, get some sleep."

Rose nodded and she and James slipped into their sleeping bags while Ianto took the prybar and torch and stepped outside to do a short patrol. John came up beside Rose and lay down near her head. Rose smiled and rubbed his back before wishing James good night. James did the same and Rose shut her eyes and relaxed. About twenty minutes later, she was fast asleep and dreaming.

In the dream Rose was standing in a large elegant ballroom. The floor was made of white marble and the crystal chandeliers hanging above were reflected in it. The walls had wood paneling on them and the large windows along the side had heavy pink curtains covering them. There was a black baby grand piano off to the side near the glass double doors and on the other side of the room across from the piano sat the TARDIS. Rose looked down and noticed she was wearing a fluffy pink ball gown that matched the curtains with white slippers. Her hair was done up in a chignon and a pink rose was in her hair. She slowly walked towards the TARDIS and when she neared it, the door opened and her heart soared when the Doctor stepped outside, youthful as ever.

"You're alright!" Rose said, running to him and hugging him. "You're young again!"

"Yes, everything's alright now," the Doctor said. "I've stopped the Master and everything's back to normal."

Fear gripped Rose's heart and she pulled back from him.

"But if your plan succeeded, that means I go back," she said to him. "I go back to the other universe forever. I'll never see you again."

The Doctor gave her a knowing smile and Rose gave him a puzzled look.

"What is it?" she said.

"I have something for you," he said to her. "Something that will comfort you when you're far from me…or rather someone."

"Who?" Rose said.

The Doctor leaned back through the door and gestured to someone. He pulled back out and leaned against the side of the TARDIS, watching Rose with a loving look. Rose watched and her mouth dropped open when another Doctor showed himself and came down the ramp. He was dressed in a blue suit with a maroon t-shirt. He stopped just outside the TARDIS doors and smiled tenderly at Rose.

"What is this?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"You don't recognize me, Rose?"

Rose looked at the second Doctor.

"You're the Doctor," she said.

The second Doctor chuckled. He leaned over and Rose watched while he put his right hand on the floor and used his fingers to walk towards her. He chuckled again when Rose's eyes bugged out of her head.

"John?" Rose said as he leaned back up.

"The one and only," John said. "Oh! Sorry!"

The Doctor chuckled when he signed what he just said with his fingers. Rose looked him over and then walked over to the Doctor.

"But what does this mean?" Rose said to him.

"Rose, I love you, but we can never truly be together," the Doctor said.

"Why?"

"You know why," the Doctor said. "I told you, it's the curse of the Time Lords. I will live on, young and strong, while you wither and die and I don't want that for you. But…"

Rose felt John come up behind her and the Doctor smiled.

"Fate, it seems, has provided an answer," he said. "John can do for you what I cannot. He can grow old with you and be your lover in a way I could never be."

Rose looked over her shoulder at John. He smiled broadly at her and put his right hand on her shoulder.

"I was created for you, Rose," he said to her.

"But aren't you a Time Lord, you have the same curse?" Rose said.

"No, I'm like him but I'm also different," John said.

"How?"

The Doctor and John shared a conspiratorial look and John bent into Rose's ear.

"It's a secret," he whispered. "You aren't meant to know that yet or how I come into being, only know that I was meant to be with you. The universe created me so we could be together at last."

Rose looked at the Doctor when he stepped up and kissed her forehead.

"This is my gift to you," he said to her. "I'm giving you a part of myself and he will be there for you in ways I could never be. He is your destiny, not me. Love him as deeply as you love me."

Rose was speechless. She looked back at John and saw the same love shining in his eyes that the Doctor had.

"Dance with me, my darling," John said. "Be with me now."

"But, will you be alright?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"Of course," the Doctor said. "I'm happy knowing that you're happy. I will always love you, my Rose, which is why I have entrusted you to John. Go with him and be happy, live life to the fullest with him at your side."

Rose kissed his cheek and the Doctor let out an "Aww," as she stepped back. His eyes shifted to John and Rose turned to see he was now wearing a black tux, white shirt and black bow tie. While she gazed at him, drinking in the sight of him, the piano started playing a waltz without anyone at the keys. Rose stared at the piano for a moment in wonder before she looked at John who was watching her with quiet devotion. She ran her hand down her tux and giggled when she fingered his bow ties.

"Strange seeing you in bow ties instead of a tie," she teased.

"Hey, bow ties are cool," John said.

Rose smiled, held out her hands and John took them. The Doctor folded his arms over his chest and watched contentedly while John and Rose began to dance around the ballroom. They danced together in perfect synchronization. While they waltzed, Rose heard a wheezing. She looked over and saw the TARDIS vanishing. She stopped and watched it go and then looked at John.

"Phew, I thought we'd never get rid of the old geezer," John said. "Alone at last. Shall we continue the dance then?"

Rose smiled and nodded. John leaned in and they shared a passionate kiss before the two of them resumed their waltz.

Rose opened her eyes and raised her head. John was lying at her side, not moving. She looked back at James and noticed he was snoring softly as he lay curled up on his side in the sleeping bag. He turned her eyes back to John who was now up on his fingers watching her.

"Do you ever sleep?" she asked him.

John flipped up on his wrist.

_No, I rest but I don't sleep,_ he signed. _What's wrong? Is something the matter?_

"I…I had a dream," Rose said.

_Bad dream?_

"No, it was a bit bizarre but…can you and I go somewhere and talk privately for a moment."

_Sure. _

Rose shimmed out of her sleeping bag while John skittered back so she'd have room to get up. Once she was free of her sleeping bag, she took one of the torches and put John on her shoulder. She carefully stepped around James so she wouldn't wake him up and headed towards the door.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty Seven

Rose stopped when Ianto shined his torchlight on her. He was several feet away keeping watch.

"Rose, is anything wrong?" he said to her.

"Nah, I just need to use the loo," Rose said. "Have you seen Martha?"

"Not yet. Here take this," he said, handing her the prybar. "Just in case."

Rose thanked him and they walked on while Ianto kept watch over the break room. Rose headed to the loo while John rode on her shoulder. She didn't say anything while she walked and John wondered what she dreamed about. She could tell it had affected and he figured it was something about the Doctor being tortured and she wanted to confide in him in private. When they reached the door to the lavatory, Rose went inside and wrinkled her nose.

"Ugh, if we stay here longer than a day, we need to do something about this dead body," she said.

The door shut behind her and she set John down on the ground. John followed her as she walked to the last stall. She went inside and sat down on the toilet. John came inside and stopped several inches from her feet. He hopped up on his wrist and waited for her to speak.

"I had a dream…about me and you and the Doctor," she said.

John said nothing so she continued speaking. She told John about the dream, leaving out no detail. John listened in fascination. It was similar to his dream except they weren't on a beach and the Doctor wasn't angry at him. When she finished, Rose stared at him in silence for a moment.

"You said you had a dream where you were part of a duplicate Doctor. We're having similar dreams. Do you think we are seeing the future?"

_Not sure,_ John signed. _But maybe you remember what I told you and had a dream based on that._

"I don't know," Rose said, getting up and sitting down on the floor beside him. "Somehow, I think it's more than that. Maybe we're both a bit psychic."

_The Bad Wolf perhaps?_ John signed. _You looked into the heart of the TARDIS. Perhaps you carry some of that residual power and you can see a glimpse of the time lines. _

Rose thought that over.

"Maybe," Rose finally said. "And you were attached to the Doctor so you have his ability to see the time lines as well?"

_Not only see but hear, I keep hearing a heartbeat, a single beat though, don't know what that means either._

"What did you dream that night? Tell me what you remember so we can compare," Rose said.

John signed to her, telling her all he remembered of his dream. Rose's brow was furrowed in thought as she read his sign language. It took about twenty minutes of rapid signing to tell her and when he finished, Rose thought over what he said while John waited for her response.

"The Doctor was angry at you in your dream," she mused while she stared at the stall wall opposite her. "But in my dream, he was happy we were together. If this is all a premonition, maybe he starts out being angry but then realizes that he can't be with me like you can."

Rose sighed and drew her knees up to her chest before she looked down at John.

"I hate not knowing what these dreams mean," she said.

_Me too._

She went back to staring at the wall while she thought.

"You're part of a body in both our dreams," she said. "So maybe the Doctor is able to grow you one."

_I hope so. I hate being just a hand._

"Yeah," Rose said, laughing. "I s'pose it does get annoying. But then again, you've been able to do a lot more than I thought you could. You're a very resourceful and clever hand, that's for sure."

_Consider who I came from._

"Yeah, I know, you take after him, that's for sure," Rose said. "Oh, John…"

John waited for her to finish her thought but she lapsed into silence as she gazed at him. Then, a moment later, she picked him up and John felt elation when she held him against her chest while she stroked his back.

"You were made for me," she murmured as she gazed down at him.

John felt like electricity was coursing through him as Rose held him slightly away from her body and kissed his finger. She sat him down on the floor beside her on his wrist.

"John, do you love me?" she asked.

_You know I do,_ he signed.

He hesitated a moment.

Do you love me? He signed.

Rose smiled and picked him up. In response, she kissed his finger again.

"I never thought I'd fall in love with a body part but you're more than that," she said to him as John quivered with delight. "I've been feeling a bit guilty having these feelings because of the Doctor but maybe what the dreams are trying to tell us is we're meant to be together and it's okay to love each other."

She laughed.

_What?_ John signed.

"Just thinking dirty thoughts now," Rose said with a wink. "I was thinking if you were my lover, sex would be mainly groping, I s'pose."

John was stunned by that. He'd never even thought about that before but now he suddenly had an image of him fondling Rose's breast while she moaned in pleasure. Then he got another thought and shook with laughter.

"What is that? Trembling?" Rose said.

_Laughter, I'm laughing,_ John signed.

"Why? What're you laughing about?" Rose said.

_Well, since you mentioned sex and groping you, I had an image of fondling your breast but then I thought about it and…_

"Yeah?" Rose said.

_Well, the vagina is an opening and I do have fingers. Think about it._

He shook with laughter when Rose's eyes bugged out at that.

"Oh blimey, I think we need to stop now. Maybe we do need those porn DVDs," she said while John shook with laughter. "Both our minds are in the gutter now."

She held him close to her chest and stroked his back while John played with her hair.

"John, if I have to go back to the other universe, will you go with me?" she asked.

_Yes,_ John signed.

"Thank you," Rose said before kissing his finger again.

She got up from the floor and put John down on the floor. She closed the stall door and used the restroom while John waited. While she peed, John thought about what had just happened and he tingled with pleasure when he realized that perhaps his dream wasn't all gloom and doom after all. That perhaps he and Rose had ended up together because they were meant to be together. Even better, he would get a full body and he would be able to love Rose completely with all of it. He stepped back when Rose flushed the toilet and came outside. She smiled at him while she washed her hands and dried them. Then she picked him up and put him on her shoulder. Grabbing the torch, she turned it on, grabbed the prybar and they headed back to the break room.

When they neared the break room, Ianto spotted them and sprinted towards them.

"Are you alright? You've been gone for awhile," he said to them.

"Yeah, we're fine. I needed to tell John something in private. Nothing happened," Rose said.

"Good, I'm glad you're safe. Martha's back and she found someone to take us into the country. He wants us to leave as soon as possible so we've been getting ready."

"Great. We'll be ready in about ten minutes then," Rose said.

Ianto patted her shoulder as he and Rose headed back to the break room.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty Eight

Everyone gathered up their things and John hid inside Rose's jacket while Martha led them through the warehouse to the front entrance. Just outside the front entrance was a battered white pickup truck. Leaning against it was a middle aged man, thin and haggard with short salt and pepper hair. He was smoking a cigarette while he waited for them.

"This is Georges," Martha said to her friends.

"Bon soir," Georges said in a thick Parisian accent, after taking the cigarette out of his mouth. "Mademoiselle Jones said you needed a ride out of Paris."

"Yes, we do," Ianto said.

He introduced everyone and Georges nodded at each person in turn. He pointed to the back of the truck. The bed of the truck had a green tarp tied over the top.

"You can hide under here," he said to them. "I deliver supplies to the missile fields so I have permission to drive."

"Missile fields?" James said. "Where are these missiles?"

"Outside of Paris. Monsieur Master has enslaved many people and they're building them. Why they're building them I cannot say. It's better not to ask questions, you live longer that way. Anyway, in the back of the truck all of you, Allons-y!"

Georges gave Rose an odd look when she laughed at that.

"Mademoiselle, did I say something funny?" he said.

"Sorry, it's a private joke," Rose said as John shook with laughter in her jacket.

Georges opened the gate at the back of the truck and they all crawled in under the tarp. They couldn't see anything under the heavy tarp but they felt a few spare parts here and there. Rose waited until Georges wasn't looking and leaned across the lowered gate, pretending to look inside as she nudged John to move. John quickly scurried out and Rose crawled in after him. John waited till she got settled before he came back to her. He took Rose's hand and she smiled and gave it a squeeze while George slammed the gate shut, plunging them into darkness.

"Finally, a way out," Martha said while they listened to Georges getting back in the cab and slamming the door.

"Do you know these people?" James asked.

"No, but we stayed with some people who knew them," Martha said. "They said we could rest there and resupply before moving on."

She fell silent when the engine turned over and the bed began to vibrate under them. There was a moment's pause and then the truck began to move.

"Where are you planning to go next?" James shouted over the engine noise.

"Dunno," Martha shouted back. "We'll decide that when we get to the house and have a proper rest."

She grunted when the truck's tire hit a bad spot and the truck bounced.

"Ugh, hope the road isn't this bad all the way there," Martha said.

"I just hope this house isn't way out in the country where there is no road," Ianto yelled. "I don't feel like bouncing up, hitting the tarp and coming back down."

Rose gritted her teeth while she held onto John. But after a few minutes, the road smoothed out and Georges picked up speed. Rose crooked her elbow and put her arm under her head as the rhythm soothed her to sleep. Eventually, everyone except John fell asleep. John lay by Rose's side, keeping her company and protecting her while he felt the vibrations from the moving truck on his palm. As he lay there, he felt the truck suddenly slow down, stop and the engine shut off. He got up on his fingers and tapped Rose on the cheek.

"Huh?" she murmured before slipping back to sleep.

John sighed inwardly, wishing right now he had that body he and Rose had been dreaming about so he could speak to her without signing. He tapped her again.

"Hmm?" Rose said.

He saw the outline of her head as it lifted up and looked around.

"We've stopped. We're here?" Rose murmured.

"It's alright, I have a license to drive!" they heard Georges say.

Rose fell silent when she heard one of the Toclafane ask him what he was doing and where he was going. By now, everyone else was awake and keeping silent while they listened to Georges explain that he was delivering parts for the missile sight. There was silence for a moment and then they heard the male voice of the Toclafane.

"Very well, carry on," the Toclafane said.

There was silence again for a few minutes and then they heard the truck door slam and the engine start up. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the truck drove on. Rose lay back down on her arm and smiled when John laid his fingers on her cheek. She laid her hand on his back and tried to get some more sleep, comforted by his touch.

A few hours later, John tapped her cheek again when the truck slowed down again. Rose opened her eyes and groaned.

"Not again," she said.

Everyone else woke up and they waited for the Toclafane voice. But instead, Georges lowered the gate and looked in.

"This is the address Mademoiselle Jones gave me," he said to them.

Rose picked up John and put him in her jacket before she slid out with the others. Her feet hit the crushed gravel of a driveway and she stood up and saw a large white, two story farmhouse at the end of the driveway before she reached in and grabbed her sleeping bag and rucksack. The house had a small wooden porch with two chairs on either side of a white wooden door. Martha went up the driveway with Georges and Rose noticed a light coming on in one of the upstairs windows. Ianto came up to Rose and pointed over her shoulder.

"Take a look at that," he said.

Rose turned and was shocked to see two stone legs about five miles away. They were enormous legs that looked like they belonged to a statue but there was nothing above the legs. James came up beside Ianto and frowned while he stared at it. There was a full moon out but the legs were illuminated by what Rose figured were two huge searchlights. The house was nestled in the countryside and there was nothing around them except hills and fields. The legs, the house and a small country road were the only manmade things for miles. Rose glanced at the front door when it opened and a disheveled looking woman wearing a bathrobe stood there, giving Martha and Georges confused looks. She had a dark brown curly perm that was messed up from sleeping on her pillow and she had a slightly lined and plump face. Martha began to explain to her who they were and what they were doing her. The woman looked at Rose, Ianto and James and Rose waved at her. The woman didn't wave back and turned her attention back to Martha. Martha handed her a letter that Yvette had given to her and the woman opened the envelope, read the letter and nodded as she gestured to Rose and the others to come inside and they picked up their gear and walked towards them. Martha thanked Georges while the others walked up onto the porch and they also thanked him for his hospitality.

"Not a problem," Georges said. "I wish you luck and I hope you defeat the Master. Au revoir, my friends."

They waved goodbye as he got back into the truck. They turned to the woman who ushered them inside and they carried their gear into the house. The interior of the house was made of wood and very cozy, most of the knick knacks seemed to be cats. A few of the pictures on the walls were also cats along with some family photos. The woman led them into the living room and they saw a white Persian cat sleeping on the end of the sofa.

"That is Mimi," the woman said to them. "I am Marie; Yvette said you needed my help."

"Yes," Martha said. "We need to rest and resupply for one or two days. We're going around the world on a mission from a man who can help defeat the Master."

"If you are doing that, you're welcome here," Marie said. "The Master's balls killed my husband."

She walked over to a table, picked up a silver framed photograph of her and her husband and showed it to them.

"Those ball things flew right in here," she said, pointing to the bay window off to their right. "They shot Gerard but flew away before they killed me. I wished they had killed me," she said, shooing Mimi off the sofa so they could sit down.

She put the picture frame back on the table while everyone sat their gear down by the sofa. The women sat on the sofa while the men sat in front of them. Ianto smiled when Mimi walked up to him and she purred when Ianto stroked her back.

"So, how do you hope to defeat the Master?" Marie said as she sat down in the chair opposite them.

Martha gave her an abbreviated version of the story she usually told others. James listened in fascination while Martha described the Doctor and told her about some of the things she had done with him. Marie looked stunned while she listened and she shook her head when Martha finished her story.

"Normally, I would say you are crazy but after those ball things…" she trailed off and didn't finish her sentence. "Would you like something to drink or eat? I have milk or orange juice and of course, water."

Everyone asked for orange juice and she rose and went into the kitchen to get it. Rose looked at Martha.

"Good job she believed us and is gonna help us out," she said softly to her.

"Yeah. Hope we have this kind of luck every step of the way. But if not, we can always sleep out under the stars. At least here we can rest."

Marie came back out with a silver tray loaded with glasses of orange juice. Everyone thanked her as they took a glass and she took the tray back into the kitchen. Rose sipped her orange juice and licked her lips, savoring the taste of fresh orange juice in her mouth. She felt John move around in her jacket and she patted the jacket where his back was, comforted by the fact that he was near her.

"You can put your sleeping bags in here," Marie said when she came back in the living room. "I hope that'll be okay."

"That'll be fine," Martha said. "We've been sleeping on the floor anyway."

"Good. It's nice to meet you all and we'll talk some more in the morning. I'm afraid I'm too tired to stay up so I'll see you at breakfast."

Everyone nodded and bid her goodnight. Rose finished her orange juice last, watching while the others finished theirs and put their glasses back in the kitchen before they rolled out their sleeping bags and prepared to go to bed. Rose went in the kitchen and set her glass on the counter. But she wasn't sleepy so she decided to go outside with John and get a bit of fresh air before she turned in for the night. She told the others where she was going and slipped outside. Shutting the door, she took a breath of fresh air, relishing the fact that for the first time in a long time, she was out in the countryside away from the pollution and noise of the city. The air was slightly chilly but the sky was clear and she could see the stars in the heavens. She admired them while she reached in and put John on the ground. John got up on his fingers and followed behind Rose while she walked off to the left towards a small hill. She walked past the property line into a bit of tall grass and onto a field as she headed for the hill. She heard rustling behind her and turned to see John in the tall grass. She giggled when John got up on his wrist and waved his hand around in a false panic.

_Help,_ he signed to her. _Tall grass. I'm drowning. Eeee._

Rose giggled when he ducked below the grass and then got back up on his wrist, waving his fingers and signing help, help to her.

"My poor John," Rose said fondly as she walked over to the grass.

She picked him up and sat him down on the ground amidst the shorter grass of the field. John got up on his wrist.

_My hero,_ he signed to her. _And as I say that, you have to imagine me saying it in a falsetto girl voice. _

Rose giggled and patted the back of his hand. John followed her as she walked through the grass towards the hill. She climbed the hill and sat down on top of it. John followed her and stopped by her side.

"Look at it, John, all the stars. You can see them clearly without all the pollution," Rose said, looking up.

She laid back and stared up at the stars while John walked up to her head and got up on his wrist. Rose gazed up at Orion high above her, enjoying the night breeze.

"You know," she said while John listened to her, "when I was small, I dreamed of travelin' the world, seeing other countries. But not like this, not in this way. Until I met the Doctor, I'd never been out of England. We used to go to Sheffield when I was a kid to see a couple of cousins and Mum and I used to go to Blackpool on holiday but that was it. And now that I've traveled in time and space, I hate being stuck here on Earth, far away from those stars. I bet you hate it too."

John nodded his hand. Rose lifted her finger and stroked his back.

"We'll get there, someday. You and me, we'll find a way to get back to the stars," she said as she stroked his back.

John walked up onto her chest and Rose smiled and put her hands on him when he lay down. She gazed up at the stars while John watched her in a contented silence, loving the way the wind blew bits of her hair around her face while she stared up at the stars. Then he saw the front door open and Rose let go of him as she pushed up on her elbows to see who it was. John slid down her chest and stood up while James came outside and closed the door behind him. He waved at Rose and she waved back. He headed towards her and Rose sat up to make room for him. John hopped up onto her left leg and lay down on it.

"Hope I'm not botherin' ya," James said when he reached the hill and climbed up. "Can't sleep. I hate being in a new place and trying to get used to it."

"Yeah, I have that problem as well," she said when James sat down beside her.

James looked at John and shook his head.

"It's gonna take me awhile to get used to that," he said, pointing to John. "It's odd seeing a severed hand sitting on your leg like that."

"Yeah, it takes awhile to get used to him but he's been a great friend and protector, I can't imagine traveling without him now."

"Protector? How can he protect you?" James said.

Before Rose could explain, John got up; hopped onto Rose's shoulder and carefully latched himself around her neck, pretending to choke her while Rose gave James a pointed look.

"Whatever you can do with your hands, he can do," Rose said. "He can punch people; choke them like he's demonstrating here, use weapons. He's very intelligent."

John let go and dropped back down to her lap. He walked back onto her leg and lay down.

"So he's like a dog?" James said.

"Oh, I wouldn't call him that. He's loyal and protective but he's far from being a dog. He's just like a person rolled up into one hand," she said, patting John on the back.

"What Martha was saying to Marie about the Doctor, those stories of traveling with him, those are all true?"

"I think so. I haven't known Martha for very long and I wasn't with her when she traveled with him but I don't think she'd lie. Besides, I have my own batch of bizarre adventures that rival anything she told Marie."

"Severed hands, time traveling aliens, I have fallen in with a weird crowd," James said, shaking his head.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to us."

"This Doctor fella sounds interesting. Hope I get to meet him."

"So do I, I think he'd like you," Rose said. "In a way, you have met him since you know John."

John stood up at the mention of his name. He hopped on his wrist and signed something. Rose looked at James.

"Do you know sign language?" she asked.

"No, I'm afraid I don't," he said.

"He's saying allons-y. It's something the Doctor says."

"Is that why you were laughing earlier when Georges said that."

Rose laughed and nodded.

"Yeah. It made me think of him," Rose said. "I hope he's alright."

"Me too. He sounds like a remarkable man. He doesn't need to be with that Master bastard."

Rose laughed.

"Master bastard, I like that, we'll have to start calling him that," she said.

James looked at John who was shaking.

"What is that? Is he having an epileptic fit?" he said, pointing to John.

"No, that's how he laughs."

Rose giggled when James's eyebrows nearly shot up to his hairline.

"Dang, he is multitalented, isn't he?" he said to Rose.

"Yes, he is," Rose said while John got up on his wrist and bowed his hand.

"Well, I'm gonna go back inside and try to sleep. I'll see you both later. Night, Rose. Night, John."

"Night, James," Rose said while John signed the same.

James patted her on the shoulder and headed back towards the house. Rose watched him go for a moment and then lay back down so she could watch the stars for awhile.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty Nine

Rose fell asleep after about an hour of star gazing. John kept watch over her while she slept. The night was a little bit chilly but she was wearing her jacket and she didn't seem uncomfortable so he lay on her chest and waited for her to wake up. She slept through the night and towards dawn, John heard far away pounding and construction sounds coming from the direction of the stone legs. He got up and turned on Rose's chest, facing that direction while he stared at the two legs that stood out against the night sky.

_What is that?_ John thought to himself_. It looks like a statue but what will it be? Whatever it is, I'm sure the Master has the poor humans working on it._

He spun around when Rose let out a gasp.

"Oh my God, I fell asleep," she said, looking around. "What time is it, John?"

_Dunno. Early_, he signed.

John hopped off of Rose so she could sit up. She heard the sounds of construction work and gazed at the legs while John came up beside her.

"They're working on that," Rose said to John. "Some sort of statue? Wonder what it'll be?"

_Maybe the Master,_ John signed. _I can see him building one of himself using humans as slave labor._

Rose nodded and turned her attention back to the statue.

"Missiles. Statues. The Master is defacing the Earth left and right," she murmured while she stared at the legs. "Makes me wonder if we'll be able to pull this off. What if we get captured and end up in some work camp somewhere making statues of him."

She stroked John's back.

"John, I'm scared. I don't think I can do this," she said. "Going clear around the world while trying to avoid all these Toclafane and the Master and God knows who else is working for him. Our faces are on the telly and we have to hide all the time like mice. I'm afraid we're not going to make it."

John didn't know what to say, other than he'd had those same fears himself. It looked like a fool's errand. Four people and one hand trying to avoid the Master while going around the Earth, and all of it because they needed to tell people about the Doctor. He pointed to Rose's shoulder and she looked at it.

"You want to be on my shoulder?" she said.

John nodded and Rose placed him there. She smiled when John began to massage her shoulder, slowly working the muscles.

"Oh, John, that feels good," she murmured as she patted his fingers.

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes while John massaged her shoulder. He did this for about ten minutes and then he saw Rose's hand come up to her shoulder. He stopped and let go when she took him down. Then to his surprise, she put him, fingers first, up to her mouth and began to suck on his index finger. John tingled all over and he felt like he was in Heaven while Rose continued to suck and lick his index finger. She stopped for a moment and looked at him.

Wow, he signed, amazed he could sign anything at all after the way he felt.

"Yeah, I'm good with my hands," Rose said, then laughed when John's hand wilted at that. "Sorry, that was a bad joke, she said, while John's hand perked up.

John pointed to her lips and Rose brought him near. She sighed when he touched her lips and caressed them. Rose kissed his fingers back and then put him against her chest, holding him near her heart. She noticed the sky was growing lighter and she looked back at the house.

"I think we better go back inside now before everyone wakes up and thinks we're hurt or something," Rose said.

John nodded and Rose tucked him inside her Jacket, got up and walked back to the house. She opened the front door slowly and tiptoed to the living room. Everyone else was in their sleeping bag, fast asleep, so she quietly got hers and unrolled it near Ianto. She was straightening it out when Mimi came up to her. Rose jerked her body back when Mimi sniffed at her jacket and tried to put her head inside it to get at John.

"No," Rose hissed at Mimi, "he's not a cat toy."

John slid out of Rose's jacket. Rose saw Mimi heading towards him and was about to shoo her away before she took a chunk out of him or used him for play when John hopped up on his wrist and beckoned to the cat. Rose watched in amusement as John held his fingers at an angle and Mimi went under them, arching her back as she purred. Then Mimi went around John and did it again. Rose breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the cat wasn't going to attack John and finished straightening out her sleeping bag. She unzipped it about half way and pulled part of it back. She looked at John and noticed that Mimi was now lightly chewing on John's index finger. She checked John and saw he was allowing it so she chuckled softly and slid into her sleeping bag. John got back on his fingers and walked towards her, Mimi following behind him, purring softly.

"Oi, you can't sleep with us, Puss," Rose said, trying to shoo her away.

John flipped back on his wrist and Rose giggled when John and Mimi took turns lightly batting at each other. Then John scratched Mimi's head and she began to purr again.

"I see you made a new friend," Rose said softly.

_Easy pea…_

John didn't finish signing because Mimi began to bat his fingers again. Rose laughed when John batted back and then tickled the cat under the chin. Rose finally managed to shoo the cat away and John walked into the sleeping bag when she zipped it up and held up the opening for him. She lay on her side while John lay down beside her. Rose put her arm under her head and sighed, falling asleep as the first light of morning began to show through the window.

She slept for a few hours while John lay beside her and listened to the activity outside the sleeping bag. Martha had risen and was talking to Marie while she helped her fix breakfast. James was up and outside and Ianto was still sleeping. John watched while Mimi came back to the opening of the sleeping bag and sniffed before poking her head inside. Mimi crawled in beside John and John lay flat while Mimi stepped on him while she turned her body around. Then Mimi lay down beside John and began to groom her paws.

A half hour later, breakfast was ready. Martha woke Ianto and Rose looked up when she woke her before going outside to tell James to come in. Rose looked at John and then looked at Mimi who was lying right beside him.

"You really did make friends with puss, didn't ya?" Rose said while John shook with laughter.

She shooed Mimi away before putting John in her jacket. Then she got out of her sleeping bag and rolled and tied it up. She set it beside the sofa and went into the kitchen to eat breakfast. Martha and Marie had fixed eggs, bacon and croissants with butter and tea. Rose licked her lips as she ate, loving the home cooking. While she was eating, she noticed Marie giving her an odd look.

"Pardon, Rose, but are you cold?" she said to her. "You're wearing your coat. You don't have to keep it on, you know."

Martha and Ianto shared an amused look while Rose shifted uneasily.

"That's okay, I'm very fond of this jacket," she said while John shook with laughter.

Marie shrugged and Rose reached into her jacket and playfully tapped John on his fingers before taking her hand back out.

"I have a question though," Rose said. "What are they building over there?" she said, pointing in the direction of the legs.

Marie snorted.

"That is going to be Monsieur Master in statue form," she said. "I have seen news broadcasts where they say he's been doing that all over the world. He is even putting his face on Mount Rushmore in America."

"What?" James said. "Sam Hell, he's nuts. He's gonna destroy us all."

"Not if the Doctor can help it," Martha said.

"But…what if he ends up killing the Doctor before we can get back to him?" James said.

"I don't think he will," Martha said. "If he does, the Doctor will regenerate and go back to being young and he'll have to deal with him. If he can keep him old and feeble, he can keep him under his control. So I think he's safe for the moment."

"And I think he likes toying with him," Rose said. "Cat and mouse thing…and speaking of cat," she said when Mimi jumped up on her leg and pawed at her jacket.

Her friends shared a knowing look while Rose put Mimi on the floor and petted her. They laughed when Mimi jumped up on her leg almost immediately and began pawing at her jacket while she meowed.

"Mimi," Marie said, walking over and scooping her up. "Get down from there. I'm sorry, Rose, normally she isn't like this."

"It's fine," Rose said while John shook with laughter, "she's just being friendly is all."

Marie shooed Mimi into the living room while Rose finished eating.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

The Doctor grunted when two of the Master's guards shoved him through the door into the Master's office.

"I have legs, you know, there's no need to propel me through the door," the Doctor said to them.

"Quiet!" one of the guards said to him.

He pointed to the Master and the Doctor saw him sitting at his desk while someone filmed him with a movie camera. Another of his slaves held a boom mike over his head and a third was manning a spotlight that was shining on the Master.

"And so, my subjects, this is the end of this message," the Master said as he stared into the camera. "But don't worry, there will be many more to come. Signing off."

The red light on the camera went off and the Master turned his attention to the Doctor who was standing by the door with the guards.

"Ah, there you are, so kind of you to come when I called," the Master said, rising from the desk.

"Yes, well, I didn't have much of a choice after Tweedledum and Tweedledee came and pulled me off the floor and forced me in here," the Doctor said, glancing at the guards behind him.

"Well, that's because you play hard to get."

The Doctor rolled his eyes when the Master snickered at that. To his surprise, he dismissed the guards and ordered them to lock the door after they left. The Doctor folded his arms over his chest, giving the Master a wary look.

"Chair, Gramps?" the Master said, pointing to a Chippendale chair near the door.

"No, I prefer to stand," the Doctor said. "What's this about?"

The Master feigned shock as he came near to him.

"Can't an old friend talk to his old friend in private?" he said. "Come now, Doctor. Surely you're bored just sitting there all day."

"Yes," the Doctor admitted. "But I'd rather be bored than worked over by you and your thugs."

"Who said anything about being worked over. I just want to talk," the Master said, crossing over to a minifridge. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"No."

"Suit yourself," the Master said with a shrug before he opened the door of the minifridge.

He rooted around for a moment and pulled out a small bottle of liqueur and a ham and cheese sandwich. He kicked the door closed with his foot and walked back to his desk. He glanced at the Doctor as he sat down.

"You can sit, you know," the Master said. "I'm not going to beat you up if that's what you're worried about. I just want to…how do you say it? Shoot the breeze? Chew the fat? Chit chat? Curious human phrases for having a chat, don't you think?"

"Get to the point," the Doctor said.

"Fine. I was just thinking the other day about you and me and how far we've come," he said, opening the bottle.

"Yeah, from friends to enemies, we've come really far alright," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes.

"You know, your caustic manner is something I never particularly liked," the Master said, taking his sandwich out of a plastic sandwich bag. "Even when we were friends, I used to get so annoyed at your cynical outlook on life."

"Consider my childhood," the Doctor said.

"Yes, yes, the lonely boy who was shunned by nearly everyone because he was different. Makes for a nice soppy film…chick flick, I believe they call it. Another curious human phrase. I can see why they fascinate you so much; they certainly do know how to turn a phrase. But anyway, you were always Mister Gloom and Doom which is why I'm glad I came along and became your friend."

"Oh yes, my life was so much better after you came into it," the Doctor said with another eye roll.

"There it is again, the sarcasm. Blimey, you really have become hard and cynical, haven't you?"

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at that but decided not to dignify that with a response.

"Frankly, I'm surprised Rose could tolerate you, what with your dismal outlook on life and that whole poor pity me wallowing in misery shtick you're good at. So tell me, what's it like when you shag her?"

"That's none of your business."

"Oh, so you have shagged her."

"No, anything to do with Rose is none of your business," the Doctor said.

"Oh, come now, Mister Grumpy Pants, let's swap stories about our human mates. I'll tell you about Lucy, if you tell me about Rose."

The Doctor remained silent; the Master shrugged and took a swig of liqueur. He made an ah sound after swallowing it and studied the Doctor. The Doctor stared back calmly, standing with his arms folded over his chest.

"What would you say if I allowed you to get a message to her?" the Master finally said.

"Get a message to who?"

"Rose, you nitwit. You see this camera in front of me? I can broadcast to any TV in the world using my archangel network. Would you like to say something to her and Miss Jones and…Mr. Jones…and your hand?"

"What's the catch?" the Doctor said.

"Well, I'll tell you that later. First, I want to know if you're interested in sending a message."

"Depends on if I'll be allowed to speak freely or if I have to use an approved script."

"Approved script? Oh, you mean, I would write something like…hi, Rose, I want to shag your brains out, please surrender?"

The Master sniggered at that while the Doctor sighed angrily through his nose.

"No, you'd be allowed to speak to her freely, Mister Silly Sod," the Master said in a condescending voice.

"While you listened in."

"I'd be out of the room, you'd have total privacy," the Master said, holding up his hands.

"That doesn't mean you don't have listening devices and CCTV in here," the Doctor said.

"Look, old man, I'm offering you a deal. I'm trying to be merciful here and let you speak to your girlfriend. Perhaps we can arrange a meeting between you two."

"And have Rose reveal her location to you? Not a chance."

"Then we'll arrange it in a neutral spot of my choosing," the Master said.

"Why are you being so magnanimous all of a sudden?" the Doctor said. "What do you want from me?"

"Or…" the Master said, ignoring him. "Here's an idea. I can send you down with a special collar on your neck that would transmat you back here after say an hour or two. You could visit with Rose, but at the end of that time, you'd be transported back here."

"And you would know where Rose and the rest of them were. You're trying to turn me into your bloodhound and I'm not gonna do it."

The Master scowled at him. Then without warning, he rushed him and punched him hard in the face. Then he fell on him, punching him savagely all over his body until the Doctor felt like his ribs would crack.

"I'm getting tired of this, old man," the Master said as he punched him without mercy. "I'm trying to make it easy on you and your companions. I was trying to get them to surrender peacefully and then I would show them mercy but you want to be stubborn and that means I have to use more aggressive methods of hunting them down. Not to mention the fact that I'm angry and when I'm angry, people  
SUFFER!"

He punctuated that with a fist to the Doctor's face and the Doctor's head snapped back. The Master took deep breaths as he got up from him, trying to calm down while the Doctor swallowed hard. He could taste blood from a cut on his lip and he felt blood begin to trickle out of his right nostril. His sides ached and he wondered as his hand went to his right side if his ribs were cracked or broken. The Master stepped over him and called for the guards to take him away. He closed the door and the Doctor grunted when the Master kicked him in the back.

"I will have my way, Doctor, one way or another. I can be merciful or merciless; it's all up to you."

The guards came inside and the Doctor groaned when they grabbed him and forced him to his feet. The Doctor groaned as he walked away with the guards supporting them. The Master snorted when they left the room and slammed the door. While the guards took the Doctor back to his tent, a door near the Master's office opened slightly and Lucy watched through the gap between the door and the frame as they led the Doctor away.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter Forty One

The Doctor lay in his tent, gasping as he tried to cope with his injuries. He cursed the Master for doing this to him and cursed himself for being stupid enough to trust the perception filter. He had been a fool for thinking that the Master wouldn't be able to see him and now he was paying dearly for it. Not only himself, but his friends and the family of his friend were suffering now. People had counted on him and he'd let them down.

While he lay there, he saw a shadow through the tent and groaned thinking the Master had come back for more. He was surprised when the person knelt down and he saw Lucy peering at him through the flap in the tent. He was horrified when he saw she had two black eyes and bruises all over her face and upper body.

"What happened to you?" he said, raising himself up on his elbows.

"I wasn't in the mood for sex so Harry beat and raped me."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said sympathetically.

"I heard what Harry said to you. I was listening at the door."

"Oh? You better stop that before he beats you even more."

"No…I…I'm tired of Harry," Lucy said, sitting down just outside the flap. "I see what you mean about his cruelty."

"I tried to tell you that. I've known him longer than you and the only one he truly cares about is himself. You're easily disposable to him like Kleenex. I'm willing to bet he feels no remorse for doing this to you."

"Which is why I want you to escape."

The Doctor was stunned into silence for a moment. A red flag came up and he wondered if the Master had put her up to this. He asked her that and she shook her head.

"Does it look like he put me up to this?" she said, pointing to her bruises. "I want him stopped and I think you're the only one who can stop him."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, I have help with that."

"Yes, and you need to go to them. You need to be with your friends instead of suffering here," Lucy said.

The Doctor studied her face, trying to detect any deception. He couldn't find any on her face, she seemed sincere but he was still having his doubts.

"Are you going with me then?" he finally said.

"No, I'll stay behind to distract Harry for as long as I can. I can take you to a transmat though and beam you down to London."

She reached into the pocket of the brown suit jacket she was wearing and took out a small mobile.

"Call your friends to come get you," she said, handing it to him.

The Doctor looked at it.

"This has a trace on it?" he asked her.

"For God's sake, no. You wanted me to switch to your side and the moment I do, you won't trust me."

"I tend to be wary of people who suddenly switch sides; it's one of the things that's kept me alive for so long. However, I'll take a chance and trust you. I warn you though; I don't like people betraying me."

"Don't worry, I'm not betraying you."

"Okay, what about Jack and Martha's family?"

"We don't have time and I doubt I could free Harkness without raising suspicion. You'll have to go by yourself and figure out a way to free them from down there. Now, do you want to do this or not because I don't have all the time in the world."

The Doctor nodded.

"Let's go," he said.

Lucy helped him up. The Doctor groaned and held his aching side where most of the kicks had occurred. Lucy shot him a sympathetic look and helped him out of the room. The Doctor put the mobile in his pocket, hoping that it didn't have some kind of bug in it that would lead the Master to his friends. He wasn't sure if Lucy was telling the truth but he was willing to seize the opportunity and go on faith. They only encountered two guards on the way to the transmat room and Lucy explained to them that the Master had ordered her to take him to med bay. The guards accepted that and allowed them to go on. Finally, they made it to the transmat room. Lucy helped the Doctor step up onto a small circular platform. While he stood there, holding his side, she ran to the controls near the door. She began punching in coordinates.

"Do you know what you're doing?" the Doctor said to her.

"Yes, Harry showed me how to do this because we used to go down for supplies or sightseeing. I'll get you down there in one piece."

The Doctor hesitated a moment.

"Thank you for helping me," he finally said.

Lucy nodded. She finished punching in the coordinates. Wished the Doctor luck and hit a large black button. There was a flash and the Doctor was gone.

After eating, Rose and John went back outside. By now, the sun was rising in the sky and the countryside was filled with lush green grass. There was a light breeze and Rose could have sworn that the world hadn't been thrown into chaos if the stone legs weren't in the distance. She and John sat down on the hill. Rose brought her legs up to her chest while John stood beside her.

"Wonder where we'll go from here?" Rose said to John. "I've been wondering how we're going to travel the Earth in a year. I know Martha has that vortex manipulator but still, we have to talk to people and that takes time."

We'll figure it out, John signed to her.

"Yeah, I just think there oughta be an easier way to do this. If there was some way we could broadcast on the telly like the Master does. But that would be too dangerous, I suppose. Unless we could figure out how to isolate it so the people on Earth see it and the people on the Valiant don't."

_That might be doable but we'd have to work out a way to do it._

"Yeah," Rose said to John. "And we don't have all the time in the world to do it."

_Maybe we can recruit others to spread the word and that will make it easier on us._

"That might work better than hijacking the telly," Rose said as he stroked him.

She jerked her head down when her mobile started ringing. She stared at it for a moment.

"Um…" she said, standing up and taking it out of her pocket, "who would be calling me…"

Her eyes bulged when she saw the name on the screen. She slumped back down to the ground and slowly her finger hit the talk button. She raised the mobile to her ear.

"Doctor?" Rose said hesitantly.

"Rose. It's good to hear your voice again.'

Rose fought to keep her emotions in check while John hopped onto his wrist and patted her leg.

"Where are you?" she said.

"In London. I've been set free; at least it looks like I've been set free."

"The Master?"

"No, Lucy. She let me go so I could escape the abuse and find a way to stop the Master. I want to join you. Where are you?"

"Um…we're outside Paris now in the countryside."

"Blast! Well, does Martha have the vortex manipulator?"

"Yeah."

"Let me talk to her. I can talk her through programming it and she can come and get me and bring me to you. I don't know if this is a trap but I'm tired of being trapped with the Master so I'm willing to take a chance. If this is a trap though, forgive me for leading him to you."

"No, I'm sure everyone will risk it to have you with us," Rose said, wiping a tear of joy from her cheek. "I'll get Martha; she's inside the house we're staying at."

"Okay, I'll try to stay out of sight of the Toclafane then while you find her."

Rose could barely contain her joy as she bent down, grabbed John and put him in her jacket. She ran back to the house and went inside to find Martha.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter Forty Two

After Martha went to get the Doctor, Rose went back outside with John. She had butterflies in her stomach. She was glad he was free and going to be traveling with them but she wondered how he would feel about how close she and John had become in the meantime. Would there be any jealousy between him and John? She thought it odd that he would be jealous of his own hand for falling in love with Rose but she always said that John was now more than a hand to her. She hoped the Doctor would understand and accept that she loved them both.

While she sat on the hill, looking towards the driveway, James came outside. She smiled and waved at him and he started walking towards her.

"So, I'll finally get to meet the famous Doctor," James said when he reached the hill.

"Yup. I'm glad. You'll like him," Rose said.

"You think he'll care if I come along with you? I mean, he doesn't know me."

"Nah, that won't matter as long as you're helping us. Besides, he doesn't know Ianto," Rose said. "If you're on our side and willing to help, he'll welcome ya."

"Good, because I like all of ya, even Mister Hand here," he said, patting John's back. "And I want to help defeat the Master."

"Then the Doctor will welcome ya with open arms," Rose said.

They looked over near the house when they saw an opening in the air. There was a brief viewing of the vortex and then the Doctor and Martha appeared. Martha was carrying a rucksack filled with supplies and a red rolled up sleeping bag that Rose assumed was for the Doctor. Rose scooped up John and put him in her jacket before she and James ran to him. As they drew near, Rose slowed down when she saw his face and how badly bruised and bloodied it was. The Doctor brightened when he saw her and walked towards her but he stopped when he saw her horrified look.

"Don't worry," the Doctor said. "It looks worse than it is."

Rose flew into his arms and hugged him. The Doctor smiled and closed his eyes as he held her close. They remained like that while Martha ran inside to get Ianto and Marie. Rose pulled back and introduced James to the Doctor.

"A pleasure," James said, shaking his hand. "I started traveling with them and I've heard stories about ya."

"Oh, I hope they were favorable stories then," the Doctor said.

"He wants to help us bring down the Master," Rose said.

"Then it's also a pleasure to meet you," the Doctor said.

Ianto and Marie came outside. Martha introduced him and the Doctor shook Ianto's hand.

"Have you seen Jack lately?" Ianto asked him.

"No, I'm sorry. I wasn't allowed near him but according to Martha's sister, Tish, he's alive and in fairly good condition."

He smiled at Marie and thanked her for sheltering his friends. Marie invited him inside so he could rest and have something to eat and drink. The Doctor put his arm around Rose and everyone went back inside. When they were in the living room and Marie was in the kitchen, the Doctor sat down beside Rose on the sofa while Martha added the Doctor's sleeping bag and rucksack to everyone else's. The Doctor looked around and then leaned in to Rose's ear.

"Does everyone here know about my hand?" he whispered.

"Everyone except Marie," Rose whispered. "It was shocking enough finding out you were an alien, we didn't think she'd be able to handle a living hand on top of that."

"Is he here?" the Doctor whispered.

In response, John stuck his fingers out of the top of Rose's jacket.

"Aha, wondered why you had this on in the house," the Doctor whispered as he touched John's fingers. "Hello, my friend, nice to know you're still here with us."

Rose reached in and took him out. The Doctor took hold of him and smiled when he put him on his leg and patted his back. John stood up, flipped onto his wrist and waved at him.

_Nice to see you again,_ he signed.

"And you, my friend," the Doctor said softly. "Worried about ya, being just a body part and all, it can be dangerous out here."

_Tell me about it,_ John signed.

Just then Mimi came into the room. The Doctor grabbed John when she made a beeline for him and leapt up into his lap.

"It's alright, they're friends," Rose said.

The Doctor tentatively put John back down. John leapt up and the Doctor chuckled when he pet Mimi.

"Well, at least he knows how to deal with the wildlife," he said to Rose.

The Doctor quickly grabbed John and put him down his jacket when Marie came back into the room, carrying a cup of tea for the Doctor. He took it and graciously thanked her while Marie shooed Mimi off his lap. He took a sip and sighed.

"A decent cuppa. Haven't had one in ages," he said. "The Master can't make tea to save his life. Either that or he was giving me dishwater and calling it tea."

Marie walked back into the kitchen to get him some food. The Doctor sniggered when Mimi tried to get up in his lap and Rose shooed him away.

"She wants the surprise in my jacket," he said to Rose.

"Yes, she does that whenever he's in my jacket. She can smell him, I s'pose."

"Now, now, John's not smelly, are ya, John?" he said down his jacket before he took another sip of tea.

"So, do you think Lucy really helped you escape?" Martha asked.

"I don't know. I tried to get her to switch sides and she wouldn't and suddenly she changed her mind and took me to a transmat. She might have done but I'm not going to trust her completely, not until we've traveled a bit and haven't seen any of his goons. She gave me that mobile and for all I know, it's got a bug in it and they've been listening in. I hope not but I apologize if I've led them to you."

"Don't worry about it," Ianto said. "If you did, we'll just deal with them. It's not like there's any danger here anyway."

"Mmm, yes and I don't have my perception filter. I see Martha has hers so we have one for all of us. So we're gonna have to be clever in order to get past them. Plus, at some point I will have to go back up because I need to be up there, not only to help free the people we left behind but also because we need to be on the Valiant to spring the trap. That won't be for awhile yet."

"John and I were talking about…"

Rose fell silent when Marie came into the room carrying a plate with some ham and a couple of buttered croissants. The Doctor thanked her as he took the plate and then Marie sat down in her chair. The Doctor looked at Rose, urging her to continue her thought.

"I was saying that, how are we going to get the word out around the world in one year? Even with the vortex manipulator, we still have a lot of ground to cover. Is there a way we could hijack the satellites and send a message just to the people down here on Earth and tell them that way?"

The Doctor chewed his croissant thoughtfully while he considered that.

"We'd have to have something that could isolate the signal," Martha said. "So only humans could see it."

"Is that possible?" Ianto asked.

"It's possible," the Doctor said. "But it'd be tricky and we'd have to find a way to hack into the satellites."

"I was also thinking that we could tell others to spread the story by word of mouth," Rose said.

"Yeah, but we can't be sure that people would. People are scared," Martha said.

"Yes, but humans also have great courage," the Doctor said. "They might be scared now but there's only so much a person can take before they decide to risk it all and fight back. The Master can't monitor all communication on Earth which is why I decided to have you meet with people in secret. He may be a powerful adversary but he's not infallible and there are ways to subvert what he's doing. As for the satellites, we need a powerful enough computer to be able to hack into them and change the signal."

"Maybe a military base?" James said. "Or government men?"

"That's what I was thinking. Home computer won't do it. We need a very powerful computer and a military base might be our best bet. But…the Master might've taken over the bases so he can keep the people under his thumb. He's doing something to keep them submissive and I'm willing to bet he has more men under his control than the ones on board the Valiant. Someone has to keep the slave labor in line and the Toclafane aren't enough. The Toclafane are designed to kill and you can't keep killing off your slaves if they do something minor so they need extra muscle and I'm betting he's got hypnotized humans under his control."

"Plus," Ianto said. "He'll probably have people guarding the bases that house nuclear warheads."

"Exactly. He's making his own but why not take advantage of the ones that are already out there. So…we'll have to really come up with a good plan if we're going to do this. Otherwise, we'll have to go and talk to the people in small groups and like Rose said, that'll be time consuming and we won't be able to do it in a year. This ham is delicious by the way, thank you for fixing me some," he said to Marie.

"You're welcome, Monsieur," she said. "They told me you are alien but you don't look like one."

"Well, not all aliens are slobbering, slimy, tentacled nightmares," the Doctor said. "There are several species out there that resemble humans. In fact, my race has existed for billions of years before yours so you are the ones who resemble my people. But don't worry, I won't do anything they claim aliens do, I'm harmless. Just feed me ham and I'll be your best friend."

Marie smiled and nodded while the others laughed. The Doctor finished eating and Marie took his plate for him. When she came back, she told the Doctor he could rest in her bed, have a nap and recover from his injuries if he wanted to do that. The Doctor thanked her and gave Rose a gentle kiss on the cheek. Rose stood up and helped him stand. He put his arm around her and she helped him walk to Marie's bedroom while everyone else talked among themselves.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter Forty Three

The Doctor and Rose stopped just inside the door of Marie's bedroom. Her room was decorated with pictures of cats. There were cat figurines in a curio cabinet by her closet and her blanket had a huge kitten on it with a matching kitten pillow.

"She fancies cats, I'm beginning to understand that now," the Doctor said while Rose giggled. "Kinda reminds me of Delores Umbridge from Harry Potter."

"The evil bitch that liked cats?" Rose said. "You think she's evil then?"

The Doctor gave her an enigmatic look and Rose giggled when his eyes sparkled with merriment.

"Never trust a woman who likes cats, that's my new motto," he said to her as they walked towards the bed. "Blimey, I'll be glad when my body heals. I hate being this old, this is rubbish."

He sat down on the bed with Rose and let out a sigh of relief. Rose put her hand on his shoulder.

"Do you want me to check if Marie has some pain pills?" she asked him.

He shook his head and patted the hand resting on her leg.

"Don't need them. I may be ancient but my body still heals faster than a human's. This isn't the first time I've had to recover from a beating. I'll be fine. Just a short lie down and I'll be back to my slow elderly self in no time."

He let a frustrated sigh escape from his lips while he stared at the liver spots on his hands.

"I don't know what Lucy had in mine but she could have least tried to pinch the Master's screwdriver and bring me back to my youthful self. I'm beginning to wonder if she sent me down here because she knew I would slow you down and make all of you easier to catch. I'm going to be a liability now."

"Don't say that. We'll manage somehow."

"Rose, look at me, I'm not exactly built for long distance traveling in this state. Damn her. She shoulda left me where I was. Still, can't whinge about it now. Like you said, we'll manage somehow. I just hope his troops aren't coming here as we speak because I also can't fight off multiple enemies as well as I used to."

He looked around and made sure they were alone before reaching in and pulling John out. He sat him down on the bed between him and Rose.

"And you, my friend," he said, stroking his back. "You have to make up for my inadequacies and that's not fair to you. But I'm grateful that you helped protect Rose. Thank you."

_You're welcome,_ John signed. _Don't lose hope, we'll find a way._

"Oh, I'm far from losing all hope, just trying to be realistic about our situation," the Doctor said. "I wish there was a way to give you a body so you weren't at such a disadvantage."

"Is there a way?" Rose asked.

"Well…I suppose if I had my TARDIS, I could clone a body using a cell from my body or his hand and accelerate the growth. Then transfer his consciousness into it. If…I had my TARDIS, that is. Unless we find a lab somewhere where we can do the same thing and I don't hold out much hope of finding that on Earth."

"What about Ianto?" Rose said. "Would Torchwood have that sort of technology?"

The Doctor thought that over.

"Dunno, but it's worth asking him. If anyone had it, it'd be them. If they do, perhaps we can use the manipulator to go back to Torchwood so I can try it before continuing on with our mission."

Hope began to swell inside Rose.

"What about you?" she said. "Do you think they might be able to age you back?"

The Doctor gazed at her for a moment and then his eyes shifted off to the left. His body was ancient but his mind was as sharp as ever and Rose listened to him muttering to himself while he thought out a strategy.

"Professor Lazarus," he was muttering to himself. "We could go back and see if that machine is still there. I need to take a look at it and see how it works. Maybe I can make a screwdriver similar to the Master's and age myself back…"

He trailed off, lost in thought for a moment. Then he looked at Rose.

"I need to go back to London to find out if Lazarus's machine still exists. He built a machine that worked as a sort of fountain of youth and he went from being in his 80's to being in his 20's. It went wrong though but…the Master used that technology and put it in his screwdriver, that's how he was able to age me. Now…I could borrow the manipulator and go back to London and see if the machine's still there. If I can figure out how it works, I can build a device to age me back to my proper self. That's our first priority, Rose, because you lot are not gonna get far if you're dragging this elderly body around with you. Now…I'm thinking that the three of us can go and the others could stay here. We can't take everyone, for safety's sake, and we don't need everyone. I need you to assist me and John can go as well and lend me a hand, no pun intended. After that, perhaps we can come back and if Torchwood has cloning technology, we can go to Cardiff with Ianto. But the cloning can wait, this can't," he said, holding up his liver spotted hand. "Sound good?"

"Sounds good to me," Rose said.

"I might be able to make more perception filters too if we can find Lazarus's lab," the Doctor said. "That's another thing we need desperately. There are billions of Toclafane and only six of us; we won't stand a chance unless we can pass unnoticed. So I'm thinking, I'll borrow Martha's perception filter while she stays here and we can share it. We'll leave tonight so we'll have the darkness to move around in. Okay?"

"Yup," Rose said, nodding.

The Doctor smiled.

"Finally, a plan is taking shape," he said. "Beats lying here in crazy cat lady's house. And that's another reason why I want John to come with us. That cat will be stalking him and won't give this poor soul a moment's peace. He needs a break from the feline in there."

Both Rose and John laughed at that and the Doctor patted her hand.

"So…let me have a little kip and recover and then we'll leave tonight."

Rose nodded. The Doctor smiled when she kissed him on the cheek. She helped him stand up, pulled the blanket down and helped him get his shoes off. John opted to stay with him and Rose kissed them both before she headed out the door. The Doctor watched her go and turned his head to John who was lying beside on the blanket.

"I can't tell you how much it means to me that you've been looking after her," the Doctor said. "I've worried about her more than the others and I knew that at least she had you with her, protecting her. Thank you."

John patted his hand and the Doctor smiled.

"I want you to have a body, John. You've earned it," he said. "You're more than just a hand, you've proved that and I'm tired of you having to hide in people's jackets. What sort of life is that? You deserve more, my friend. Besides, I'd feel more comfortable knowing there were two of us protecting everyone."

John considered his words for a moment and then rose up on his wrist.

_Can I tell you something?_ He signed to him.

"Of course."

John hesitated for a moment and the Doctor frowned while he waited for him to continue.

_Rose and I, we've become very close,_ he signed hesitantly. _She's actually fallen in love with me._

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at that but said nothing while he waited for John to continue.

_She wants me to go back with her if she has to go back, _he signed.

"I don't know if that would be possible, my friend. She's not supposed to be here just like the Toclafane aren't supposed to be here. If I reverse everything, everything that is a paradox goes back to where they were. You're not a paradox and even if Rose were to hold onto you, I have a feeling that she would simply vanish around you."

John didn't say anything and the Doctor stroked his hand.

"Not only that but this whole year would cease to exist and if she goes back, she'll forget everything that happened during it, including meeting you. I can try to fix it so she doesn't have to go back but I can't guarantee that I'll be successful."

John felt his spirits sink and his hand wilted as the Doctor gave him a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry, my friend, but I may not be able to stop her from going back," he said. "And it's a shame because I would like you to be with her."

John's hand rose back up in surprise. The Doctor smiled when he figured out what that meant.

"You know as well as I do that Rose and I can't be together in the way she wants. She wants us to grow old together and travel the stars and I can't give her that. But you…perhaps I can fulfill her dream through you, my friend. You can be the part of me that can stay with her and make her happy. And here I bet you were thinking I was going to be furious you were muscling in on my girl, eh?" he said with a wink. "I can't be angry at you. You're technically me and I love Rose so why wouldn't you feel the same way. Besides, it would be odd fighting my severed hand for her affections. We both care for her deeply and both of us can work together to make sure she's safe for the time she's here."

_But if she's going back and forgetting me, why would it matter if I gained a body? _

"Because you need one. Whether or not Rose goes back, you need a body. You can't stay like this your entire life span…or spans. If you're living, you need to have a proper body so you can have a proper life. It's not fair to you and it's not fair to Rose. Especially if you do land up with her. I doubt the vicar will be willing to marry Rose off to a hand, eh? Not to mention I'd like a friend that's more than a body part. So that's why I'm going to try to do it…for you, for me and for her. Okay?"

John nodded and the Doctor patted his back.

"Now…I need to rest so better have a kip yourself so you don't have to face Marie's cat again."

He lifted the blanket and John walked over and snuggled under it. The Doctor smiled at that, patted his hand through the blanket and let out a sigh as he closed his eyes.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter Forty Four

"No!" Rose said.

The Doctor's eyes snapped open when Mimi walked across his chest and he sighed when she made a beeline for John who was still lying under the covers. He looked at Rose who was trying to retrieve the cat.

"I'm this close to calling a taxidermist and having that cat land up on that cabinet over there with the other cat figurines," he said, pointing to the curio cabinet.

Rose picked up Mimi, dropped her on the floor and shooed her away while the Doctor lifted the blanket, let John come up and then sat up on the side of the bed.

"How're you feeling?" Rose said.

"As old as new," the Doctor said, grinning when Rose rolled her eyes at that. "I went into a deep trance and let my body heal and I'm back to the way I was before the beating. So at least I can be of use to you now."

"I talked to everyone in private away from Marie," Rose said, sitting down on the bed beside him. "Martha gave me the manipulator and the perception filter and said that she'd tell Marie we had to do something and come right back. Ianto said he wasn't sure what was in their lab but he wanted to go back to Torchwood anyway because he wanted to get a couple of things to take with us so he'll go with us when we get back from London."

"Good," the Doctor said.

He got up without any assistance and put his hands on his back as he stretched out the muscles. He turned to Rose, took her hand and told her about the conversation between him and John. John listened and saw Rose's dismay when the Doctor told her that John might not be able to go back with her. He held up his hand.

"I'll do everything in my power to try to keep you here but I can't make any promises," the Doctor said. "I just want you to know that so you won't be surprised if you go back without him."

Rose nodded and the Doctor kissed her forehead. Rose smiled when the Doctor told her he wasn't angry about their relationship and she patted John's back. Once he was finished the Doctor picked John up an put him in his jacket pocket.

"Put you in here, there's more room and there's no danger of you falling out the bottom and landing in Stalker Cat's jaws," he said while Rose giggled.

"Marie's also fixing supper," Rose said.

"What is it? Cat? No wait, that would be a heresy in her case," the Doctor said while Rose laughed. "Wouldn't want to eat fried feline and commit the ultimate cat lover's sin."

"Be good," Rose chided playfully.

The Doctor winked at that and took her hand. Rose stood up and they walked out of the room.

Four hours later after Marie bid them goodnight and went to bed, the Doctor and Rose were ready to go to London and they and their friends went outside. Rose put the perception filter around the Doctor and he put the manipulator around his wrist. He punched in some coordinates and nodded at everyone as Rose took his hand.

"Be careful," Martha said. "You have your mobile?"

"Yes, but I also have the manipulator, so apart from ringing you and telling you I'm being stabbed to death by killer balls and give a last goodbye to this cruel world I don't know what good it would do to have it," he said. "But yes, have the mobile, filter and manipulator, so I believe we're ready."

Martha, James and Ianto stepped back and watched while the Doctor, Rose and John vanished from view.

"WHERE IS HE?" the Master screamed as he slammed his fist down on his desk.

Two of his guards stood in front of him, shaking in fear at the unbridled rage on his face.

"I GO TO CHECK ON HIM AND HE'S GONE! AND I BELIEVE THE TWO OF YOU WERE IN CHARGE OF GUARDING THEM, IS THAT RIGHT?"

He slammed his fist down on the desk and the guards flinched. The Master came around the desk, livid, and seized on guard by his jacket.

"WHERE WERE YOU?" he bellowed in his face. "ANSWER ME! WHERE WERE YOU WHEN HE ESCAPED?"

"Mrs. Saxon told us to go on break. She said she'd keep an eye on him," the man said. "Please, Mr. Saxon, we only left because she asked us to."

"And? When you came back, was he still in the conference room?"

"I…I don't know, we didn't check, Sir."

He flinched at the rage on the Master's face. Then before he could react, the Master seized his neck and twisted it. There was a snap and he threw the dead guard at his companion's feet. The other guard fell to his knees.

"Please, Mr. Saxon, don't kill me," he begged. "Please…we thought he was in there. Lucy never said anything about him escaping. Please spare me!"

"Oh…get up, you blubbering baboon," the Master said. "I'll spare your life but take a look at your friend and make sure you don't fail me again."

"No…no, I won't. Oh, thank you, Mr. Saxon, thank you," the man said.

"Get out of my sight before I change my mind," the Master said, pointing to the door.

The guard sprinted out of the room. The Master sighed, walked to his intercom and asked someone to come and take the dead body out of his office. He suddenly had a thought and hurried out of his office. He went down into the bowels of the ship to where Jack was being held prisoner. Jack looked up when the Master ran up to the chain length fence that surrounded the platform he was standing on.

"Let me guess," Jack said. "You're bored and in the mood for experimenting with how many ways you can kill me."

"Where is he?" the Master said.

"Where is who?"

"The Doctor! Where is he?"

Jack gave him a puzzled look.

"Um…is this a trick question?" he said. "Okay…I'll play along since I'm bored. He's…in the lavatory, right?"

"The Doctor has escaped."

"Oh really?" Jack said, his eyebrows raised, "good for him then."

"Where is he?"

"Well how should I know?"

"You helped him escape!"

"Me? I'm chained to these posts," Jack said, rattling his chains. "I may be many things but I'm not Houdini. Whatever the Doctor did to escape, I've been down here the entire time ignorant of it. So, you need to put the blame on someone else, dear. I had nothing to do with it."

The Master growled and stomped out of the cell.

"Nice talking with you then!" Jack yelled after him as he ran off down the corridor.

For the next half hour, the Master went around to Tish, Clive and Francine, demanding to know where the Doctor was. All of them denied helping him and the Master went back upstairs in a blinding rage. He stopped before he reached his office and decided to confront Lucy since that was the only option left. She turned and made a beeline to her bedroom.

Lucy looked up from reading her magazine when the Master threw open her door. It banged against the wall as he stormed into her room. Lucy was lying on her side in her bed when the Master stomped up it.

"What's wrong, Harry?" she said, feigning concern.

"The Doctor's escaped. I ordered the guards to search the Valliant but the two who were in charge of guarding the Doctor claimed you ordered them to take a break before you went in to see him. Is that true?"

"It is. I decided to take the Doctor to the med bay and heal his injuries before he regenerated on us," she said, calmly.

"And?" the Master said.

"And I patched him up and took him back. I told the guards to return to their posts and came in here. That's all I know."

The Master studied her face, looking for any signs of deception. Lucy fought to keep calm while his eyes bored into hers. To her relief, he relaxed and stepped back from the bed.

"The Doctor is loose. If he's on this ship, he might try to do something to you, be warned."

Lucy nodded.

"Stay in here. I might need you later."

"Of course."

"And lock the door just in case he is roaming the corridors."

Lucy closed the magazine. She stood up and embraced her husband. The Master hugged her back.

"Don't worry, Harry, we'll catch him," she said to him. "He can't have gotten far in his condition."

"Yes," the Master said. "An old geezer like him, how far could he get. Just be careful and keep your eyes and ears open for any sign of him."

Lucy nodded and the Master kissed her cheek. She sat down on her bed and watched while the Master left the room. When the door shut behind him, she reached under her pillow and pulled out two small daggers. She studied one of them, turning the handle and watching the light reflect in the blade.

"Sorry, Harry, I know the wedding vows said obey but I think in this case, I have to break those vows. The Earth will be a lot safer once I plunge these daggers into your hearts. All I have to do is wait till you go to sleep and then the Earth and I will be rid of you for good."


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter Forty Five

"Ugh!" the Doctor said when they appeared in the middle of a London street. "That manipulator is even worse when you're 40,000 years old. Why Jack loves this thing is beyond me. It's like going full speed across a million road humps in a horse and buggy. I'll never get used to it as long as I live."

He looked around with Rose while they tried to get their bearings. The street was deserted. It was a moonlit night and slightly chilly. About fifty feet up the road, they noticed firelight coming from inside an alley. Most of the shops on either side of them had their windows busted out and most of them had been looted.

"Street sign, street sign…" the Doctor murmured as he turned with Rose and walked towards the end of the street.

"Be careful, there are wild dogs roaming around here," Rose said. "We hid in a warehouse and John and I were nearly mauled by two Rottweilers. James said the pets that have gone wild feast on human flesh from the corpses and got a taste for it."

"Too bad we didn't bring puss along to throw at any of these dogs. I'm sure they'd fancy cat as well," the Doctor said.

He spied some bricks that had been blasted off the side of a building. He walked over to the pile and he and Rose grabbed a brick. The Doctor reached into his pocket, took John out and sat him on Rose's shoulder.

"Guard duty, my friend," he said to John. "Keep an eye on Rose."

They walked on and reached the end of the street. The Doctor found the street sign lying on the sidewalk. She read it and scratched his chin, mentally calculating the distance to Lazarus Labs.

"I don't think it's far," he said to Rose.

He noticed an abandoned car sitting about five feet from him on the other side of the street. He walked over to it while Rose followed. He walked around the car, examining it before he got in on the passenger side. He reached under the dashboard and pulled the wires out. Rose watched, impressed while he hotwired the car and the engine roared to life.

"Time isn't on our side so we have to risk this," the Doctor said. "I'll try to go slow enough that the car won't make much noise but I won't risk us walking there."

Rose nodded and hurried around the car. She got in on the passenger side and shut the door. The Doctor put the car in gear and tried to pull out without making much noise. He went about twenty miles per hour while Rose and John kept watch and looked for any signs of Toclafane. They managed to get there in about fifteen minutes and Rose breathed a sigh of relief when no Toclafane showed up. The Doctor pulled the wires apart, stopping the engine and they got out.

"Hope this is unlocked," he said, pointing to Lazarus Labs, "because the Master has my screwdriver."

"If it's locked, we can try to find a broken window and send John through," Rose said.

"Yup. That's what makes him so handy, eh?" the Doctor said.

John shook with silent laughter when Rose groaned at that. He held fast to Rose's shoulder while they climbed the stairs to the door. To their relief, the door was blasted off the hinges and the Doctor pulled a small torch out of his trouser pocket before they went inside. The building was dark and broken furniture was scattered everywhere. While they were walking, Rose suddenly tripped over something. She gasped and the Doctor spun around and caught her while John hopped off her shoulder in case it was something that might harm her. Rose pointed to where she tripped and she made a face when the Doctor shined the torchlight on the leg of a rotting corpse. He shined the light up the leg and saw a woman who was dressed in a white lab coat. A name tag on it said her name was Veronica Clinton.

"Lab tech," the Doctor said to Rose. "So this lab was still functioning at the time of the attacks. The Master was funding Lazarus's research for his machine which is how he came up with the technology to age me after Lazarus had his breakthrough. Wonder what else he was up to? Come on; let's do a bit of investigating."

He patted John's hand and put him back on Rose's shoulder before they turned and walked away. They saw an open door off to their right and decided to see what was inside. Rose stepped inside first and the Doctor came after her. He shined his light straight ahead and both of them did a double take when they saw the Doctor's sonic screwdriver resting upright in between a set of metal clamps. The clamps were resting on a counter and in front of it was a huge book that was filled with handwritten information. They walked over to it and the Doctor unscrewed the clamp and took back his screwdriver. He tested it and was relieved when it worked.

"This is my original screwdriver so the lab was functioning past the attack," the Doctor said.

He shone his light on the book and they saw a diagram of his screwdriver at the top of a page. Under it was detailed notes on it.

"They were studying it?" Rose said while John leapt down onto the counter.

"Seems so," the Doctor said. "Good job they were since I needed my screwdriver badly."

He shined the light on John when John tugged on his jacket sleeve.

_Something over there in the dark,_ he signed before he pointed off to the Doctor's left.

The Doctor shone his light that way and all three of them were shocked when they saw a large metal cage. Inside the cage was the Doctor as he normally looked. Except this Doctor was completely naked and he had a rectangle tattooed over his jugular vein. The Doctor in the cage was dead; his eyes were opened and clouded over. Rose put John on her shoulder before she followed the Doctor over. The Doctor used the screwdriver, opened the cage and went inside. He knelt down and examined the other Doctor.

"Is it…a clone?" Rose said.

"Think so," the Doctor said.

He looked up at Rose.

"Clone…that means they have the means to clone someone," he said to her. "Perhaps we won't have to wait till Cardiff then."

John jumped down from Rose's shoulder and walked over to the clone. The Doctor bent over and examined the tattoo on the clone's neck.

"It's a bar code," he said, looking over his shoulder at Rose.

He scanned it with his screwdriver and read the results.

"Says he's Doctor prototype clone," he said as he read the monitor.

"They were cloning you? Why?" Rose said.

"I don't know, Rose, but it can't be good," the Doctor said while John walked around the body. "The Master did mention taking some of my DNA from John and that's how he got my genetic code for his aging technology. He must have used some to clone another me."

He looked over when John snapped his fingers to get his attention and the Doctor shone his light on him.

His head's been shaved and it looks like they cut into his head, he signed.

He pointed to the spot and moved when the Doctor lay on his side and shined the light on the back of the clone's head.

"He's right and there is a faint scar. They opened up the back of his head."

"Is that how they killed him?" Rose said.

"No, the scar isn't recent. The body doesn't have much decay so he survived the procedure. Perhaps they wrote down what they were doing in that book over there. We need to take it with us."

Rose nodded and went to retrieve the book while the Doctor leaned back up. He shined his light on the clone and then looked at John.

"This is horrible. They cloned another us and did brain surgery on him, I'm guessing," he said to John. "However, if they wrote down how they cloned this Doctor…"

John felt a surge of excitement about that. He hoped the means to clone another body for him was in the lab.

"Thing is, we'd still need to put your consciousness inside the clone," the Doctor said and John's spirits plummeted again. "But perhaps there's something here we can use that'll do that. In the meantime, we need to get to the machine so we can get me sorted out."

He picked up John and stood up. He put him in his pocket and walked over to Rose. They turned and headed out the door while the room was once again plunged into darkness.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter Forty Six

"Here it is," the Doctor said as they entered a large room.

In the center of it was the aging machine. He noticed that a panel on the side of it was hanging open. He looked around at the walls and found the light switches. He turned them on, knowing that no one from the outside could see the light since there were no windows. Rose followed him as he walked to the open panel. Behind the machine was another book with a drawing of the machine and some notes. The Doctor turned off his torch and put it back in his pocket before he grabbed the book. Rose set John down and they walked around the machine while the Doctor took the book over to a nearby metal table and began to peruse the notes.

"This can age you?" Rose said, touching the side of the machine.

"Yup," the Doctor said as he read. "Lazarus tried it and it went pear shaped when he aged back to his twenties. Activated a dormant strand of DNA and turned him into a monster."

"And you want to get inside?" Rose said. "What if that happens to you?"

"I don't think so. I'm Time Lord, not human. Right now, I'd rather be a scorpion creature than a feeble old man."

"Scorpion, it turned him into a scorpion?" Rose said to John.

John nodded and Rose made a face. She looked at the Doctor when he said, "Aha!" He turned to her triumphantly waving a schematic.

"They have a diagram that explains the wiring nestled inside this book. Now I don't have to guess. Don't you love it when humans leave things for me to find?" he said.

He walked towards her as he studied the diagram. Rose came around to the open panel and the Doctor stood with her, glancing at the diagram and then cross referencing it with the wiring in front of him. He looked from one to the other a few times before he took his screwdriver and began to repair the machine. Rose put her book down on the floor, took the schematic from him and held it up so he could glance at it while he repaired. It took about a half hour before he connected all the wiring back in their original places. He looked from the schematic to the wiring and back again, making sure there were no mistakes before he nodded. Rose lowered the schematic while the Doctor closed the panel. He then walked over to the table, grabbed the book and walked over to the control console by the door. He flipped through the book until he found an entry that talked about what the different buttons on the console did. He pushed one button and the machine came to life, slowly spinning around before it started to speed up. The Doctor pushed the button again and it slowed down and stopped. The Doctor leaned against the console and flipped through the pages of the book, speed reading the information about the machine while Rose walked around and looked at the room with John. When the Doctor called her back, she turned and came back to his side.

"Think I know what to do now," he said to her before he instructed her on what to do.

John stood on the top of the console, watching while the Doctor moved a dial that controlled the age of the subject. The Doc tor used the screwdriver to open up a panel at the front of the console. He pulled out his torch and checked the wiring, making sure everything was hooked up and nothing looked out of place. Satisfied that everything was in working order, he shut the panel and stood up.

"Well, here goes nothing," he said to Rose.

"Doctor, be careful. I don't want you turning into a scorpion monster."

The Doctor kissed her and she wished him luck.

"Once I'm inside, hit the button," he said to her. "It should stop when I reached my proper age. If not…well…I hope you're good at changing nappies, Rose Tyler."

He picked John up.

"Wish me luck," he said to John.

_Good luck, Daddy._

"Daddy? Yeah, I guess so," he said while Rose and John laughed.

He put him down and Rose watched with trepidation while he walked over, opened the door in the front and climbed inside.

"Here goes nothing," Rose muttered when the door shut and she pushed the button.

The machine slowly spun around and then speeded up. Rose shielded her eyes when a bright light enveloped the outside. John stood beside her on the console, hoping his friend would be alright while the machine spun around and around. Then the machine slowed and came to a stop as the light faded. Rose took her hand away from her eyes and watched anxiously with John. The door opened and Rose felt her eyes mist over when the Doctor emerged, his old self again. The Doctor looked at his hands, felt his face and her grinned from ear to ear. He caught Rose when she ran into his arms and held her tightly as he spun her around.

"Oh, God," Rose said, wiping a tear of joy away, "I can't believe it worked."

"I can because I repaired it," the Doctor said smugly.

Rose gave him a playful swat on the chest before the Doctor held her tightly. She laid her head against his chest, giving silent thanks to God that he was back to normal. Once they were through hugging, the Doctor let go of her and bent down when John walked up to him.

"One problem solved, my friend, now we have to sort you out," he said, patting his back.

Rose picked up the book from the lab and smiled when the Doctor gave her a loving look. He beckoned for her to follow him and he walked over to the table. Rose set the book down and the Doctor began at the beginning, speed reading through it, trying to learn what he could about the clone in the cage and what they'd done to clone him.

"What?"

Rose glanced at the Doctor when he muttered and saw the disbelieving look on his face.

"What is it?" she said.

"When I was the Master's captive, he told me that he wanted to make Earth into a new Gallifrey," he said to her. "This clone is the first of a race of new Time Lords but they would be obedient to the Master. He wanted to use them to try to repopulate Earth with Time Lords and they have an entry here where they considered mating Time Lords and humans to create a hybrid since if they clone me, all they're gonna get is males. The brain surgery was both a vivisection to examine his brain and they're also hoping to fix the clones so they'll be obedient," he said, turning the page. "They could only make one at the moment since they only took one sample from my hand and it says that the hand wasn't available at the moment so they couldn't make more clones. Poor John, if you hadn't escaped when you did, you'd have been torn apart piece by piece for your cells," he said, patting John before turning the page.

"Does it say how they cloned him?" Rose said.

"Yes. And the machine is here apparently but there's still the problem of transferring his consciousness to it. It would be far easier to make the clone from the hand and grow the rest of the body. That way there wouldn't have to be a transfer. Perhaps…"

The Doctor read on. Then he had an idea. He told Rose and John to follow him while he folded down the top of the page he'd been reading and closed it. Rose put John on her shoulder and followed him as he left the room.

"I wanna try an experiement if I can find the cloning device," he said to Rose while they walked. "The prototype is dead and I don't think the machine could revive him so I think it's safe to do the experiment with him."

"What sort of experiment?" Rose said.

"I'm going to cut off the clone's right hand, put it in the machine when we find it and then see if it'll grow the rest of the body back. If it does, we can just put John in the machine and make the rest of him. If it works, my handy little friend, you'll be hand no more."

John could hardly contain his excitement as he rode on Rose's shoulder. He'd just witnessed the miraculous de-aging of the Doctor, he now hoped a similar miracle was in store for him.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter Forty Seven

While the Doctor led them back to the lab, John rode on Rose's shoulder. His spirits were practically through the roof as he imagined having a body at last. At last, he would be able to talk without signing and be able to defend Rose properly and love her the way she deserved to be loved.

When they entered the lab, Rose looked at the dead clone in the cage and her heart went out to him. She walked over, sat the book down on the floor and knelt down beside him. John watched while she put her hand on his cheek.

"Poor guy, what did they do to him?" she murmured while the Doctor busied himself trying to find something to cut off the hand. "I bet they tortured him before he died. But why was the lab abandoned and that dead lady, what happened here?"

"I think we'll find out more if we read the book," the Doctor said to her. "I've only managed to find a scalpel and I don't think that'll cut through the wrist. Perhaps if I just take a finger…"

Rose took the book and scooted over when the Doctor knelt down beside her with a scalpel and paper towels. He stared sadly at the clone.

"I'm sorry," he said to the clone. "I know this is disrespectful but we need to do this."

Rose held the hand down, keeping it stable while the Doctor sawed through the pinky finger. A small amount of blood seeped out when he was done and the Doctor took the finger and wrapped it in the paper towels. He nodded at Rose and John held on to her shoulder while she held the book against her and stood up. They then made a search of the building and found another laboratory with another machine similar to the other machine but without the prongs flanking it. The machine was a tube shaped pod that was connected to a console nearby. Above the console was a shelf with several books on it including a couple of journals. The Doctor took the journals down and perused them.

"Yes, this is the cloning machine," he said to Rose.

"Can you work the controls?" Rose said.

"Think so…let me seeee…"

He took down another of the books and smiled when he looked through it.

"This is the operating manual. It tells me everything I need to know," the Doctor said.

He sped read through it and then took the wrapped finger out of his pocket. He opened the door of the pod, laid it on the floor and closed the door. He threw the bloodied paper towel in a nearby wastebasket and then turned on the console. Rose watched while he walked over to a monitor and keyboard with the book. He glanced at the book and then typed in commands. Rose read the screen. It was asking the Doctor what he wished to clone. But she couldn't read any more of it because the Doctor typed at lightning speed. She could make out that he was asking it to clone the finger and that he didn't want the clone to live when it was finished but the words flew across the screen faster than she could read them and she stepped back when he finished and hit the enter key. The cloning machine came to life and Rose could see a faint hint of light through the cracks in the door. The machine vibrated slightly and Rose stepped back, wondering if it was gonna blow up. After two minutes, the machine stopped and powered down and fell silent. The Doctor walked to the door, Rose following behind him. He opened the door and Rose stepped up with John on her shoulder. On the floor was a fully formed clone of the Doctor. John quivered with excitement as the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the dead body. He looked at the results.

"Seems normal," the Doctor said. "I just requested that the clone not be alive when it was formed but I believe it works. What we have here is a fully formed person from one pinkie finger. So, my friend, it's your call. If you want to do this, I will give you a body. But if you don't, I understand."

John jumped down. He walked over to the body and walked around it, examining it. He could see no imperfections on the body; it was fully formed and looked normal. He walked over to the Doctor and jumped up on his wrist.

_I want to do it,_ he signed to him. I want to take the risk.

"Very well," the Doctor said.

Rose picked him up and kissed his finger.

"Good luck," she said. "Come back to me."

John gave her a thumbs up. Rose sat him down and the Doctor came back after putting in the instructions for his cloning. They moved the body out of the machine and John jumped in. He waited while they set the body down several feet from the machine and walked back. The Doctor wished him luck before he shut the door. The Doctor started up the machine and they watched while the machine came to life and the light came through the cracks in the door.

"Please…" Rose whispered as she watched. "Please let this work."

A few minutes later, the machine stopped and powered down. The Doctor and Rose glanced at each other, walked to the door and Rose put her hand on the handle. She hesitated a moment, said a silent prayer and then opened it. They saw a full body lying on the floor. For a moment the body didn't move and Rose's heart clenched, thinking he was dead. Then John opened his eyes and raised his head and Rose's heart nearly burst from joy. John stared at them for a moment and then slowly raised his right hand, looking at it while a smile slowly spread across his face. He moved his fingers and then rotated his wrist while he looked at his arm.

"Are you okay, John?" Rose said to him.

John paused for a moment, opening and closing his new mouth.

"Yeah, I am," he finally said.

Rose giggled when she saw the delighted smile on his face at hearing himself speak. She helped him sit up and gazed at his face. She did a double take when she noticed instead of brown eyes, he had light blue ones. She told the Doctor about it and he nodded.

"I altered his DNA slightly and gave him blue eyes so people could tell us apart," he said.

"I like it," Rose said, looking at John's eyes. "Blue eyes look good on ya."

John grinned a cheeky grin and signed thank you. The Doctor laughed when Rose grabbed his fingers and stopped him.

"Sorry, force of habit," John said.

They helped him up and John stepped out of the machine. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and did a quick scan of his body.

"Everything seems normal," the Doctor said, reading the results. "I think we have a success here."

"Yeah, but he's naked," Rose said.

The Doctor took off his jacket and gave it to John. He told them he'd be back and John slipped on the jacket while he ran out of the room. Rose buttoned the jacket while she looked into his eyes.

"Your blue eyes are pretty," she said to him.

"I wouldn't know, I can't see them," John said.

"And it's nice not having to read sign language for a change."

"Yeah, well, it was irritating having to do that all the time," John said.

Rose smiled.

"And I've wanted to do this for ages," she said before leaning in and kissing his lips.

John took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. Rose giggled in his mouth when she felt him getting hard and she broke off the kiss and leaned back.

"I see that's in working order as well," she said, pointing to his penis.

John looked down at it for a moment and Rose laughed while he admired it. They looked at the door when the Doctor came back in carrying a pair of trousers.

"I got this off that dead woman, sorry about that," the Doctor said. "If they fit, they'll have to do until we get back to France and someone lends you a pair."

John nodded. He tried the pants on and shook his head when they didn't fit. The Doctor cursed and ran out of the room. He returned a few minutes later with the woman's lab coat.

"In that case, this will have to cover your meat and two veg until we get back," he said.

John slipped the lab coat on and buttoned it up. It was just long enough to cover his crotch. They gathered up all the three journals, Rose holding two and John holding one and all of them got in a circle while the Doctor set the coordinates for France. When he was ready, they took hold of one another and the Doctor pushed the button, sending them back home.


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter Forty Eight

James was sitting on the porch, chatting with Ianto when they saw the flash in front of him. They got up from their chairs and headed towards the Doctor, Rose and John. Both of them stopped when they saw John.

"Is that…" Ianto said, pointing to John.

"Yup, this is our amazing little hand," the Doctor said, patting John on the shoulder. "I was able to find a cloning machine in Lazarus Labs along with a few other things. But finally, our John has a body all his own."

Martha pulled back the curtain in the bay window and smiled when she saw them. She ran out the door and embraced the Doctor.

"You're back! You're young!" she said to him.

"Yeah, back to my old, lovable self," he said.

Martha looked at John and did a double take and looked closer at his eyes.

"Blue," she said.

"Yes, I did that when I cloned the hand. Altered his DNA a smidge so he'd have blue eyes. That way you lot could tell us apart."

"Clever," Martha said.

"Yeah, I know I am," the Doctor said.

They looked at the front door when Marie stepped outside. She gave them a confused look as she walked towards the Doctor and John.

"What is this? Who are you?" she asked.

"Well, it's a long story but I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said. "And this…"

He thought for a second while he looked at John.

"This is my twin brother, John," he said while John extended his hand. "I thought he might be useful on this journey."

John looked down when Mimi came out the door and made a beeline for him. He grinned and lowered his right hand, stroking Mimi's back while she purred.

"Why isn't he wearing any clothes?" Marie said, pointing to John.

Martha and Rose snickered when John blushed. The Doctor cleared his throat.

"Um…he had to come in a hurry, the Toclafane were about to kill him and I rescued him in the nick of time. No worries, I have clothes for him in my rucksack. And Ianto, I think we should head on to Cardiff so we can get back before morning."

Ianto nodded. The Doctor told Rose and John to stay since they no longer need to take them. Martha took the extra journal from John's hands and he and the Doctor went inside. The Doctor walked over to his rucksack. He opened it up and rummaged around while John watched. He glanced up at John and smiled.

"It's good to see you a complete person, my friend," he said.

"It feels good," John said.

The Doctor pulled out a folded grey pinstriped suit and blue shirt.

"Sorry, this was all they had in the shop. No brown or blue," he said, handing him the outfit.

He reached back in and pulled out some underwear and socks.

"I'll get some shoes for you when I'm in Cardiff along with a sleeping bag and a rucksack of your own," he said, handing the underwear and socks to John. "Hopefully, we won't be long. Ianto wants to get what he needs for our journey and we'll be back after going to Torchwood and finding a shop where we can get supplies for you. In the meantime, look after Rose as always."

"I will," John said.

The Doctor stood up and hugged him. John wished him luck and the Doctor thanked him before going outside. John went to the bathroom with his clothes. By the time he came out, the Doctor and Ianto were gone. John ran his hands down the grey pinstriped jacket, loving the feel of having a body and being able to wear clothes. He smiled when Mimi came up to him and he picked her up and held her close to him while he walked into the living room. Martha was chatting with Marie. She gave him an appreciative look when he entered.

"You look good," she said to him.

"Thanks, it's all he had in his rucksack, he's gonna get me more clothes before he comes back," John said. "And some shoes as well," he added, pointing to his bare feet. "Thanks, Marie, for letting us stay here."

"You're welcome. I just hope you know what you're doing, going around the world like this. It's madness."

"Yes, but we specialize in mad schemes," John said, giving Martha a wink. "Is Rose here?"

"She's outside with James. They went outside to get some fresh air," Martha said.

John nodded. He excused himself and went outdoors. It was about two o'clock in the morning and the air was slightly chilled. The construction sounds had ceased and the spotlights had returned, illuminating the legs and causing them to stand out like a sore thumb. John stepped off the porch and saw Rose and James sitting on the hill. John grinned as he headed for the patch of tall grass. He stepped into it and waved his arms around while he yelled help, help. Rose and James looked back at him.

"What the hell?" James said while Rose burst out laughing.

"It's a private joke," Rose said as she got up and walked over to him.

She took him by the hand and led him to the hill.

"Phew, thank you for rescuing me," John said as they climbed the hill.

They sat down with James and chatted for about a half hour. Then he decided to turn in for the night, leaving Rose and James alone. They watched James and waved goodbye to him before he went inside the house. Rose glanced at John and snickered.

"What is it?" John said.

"Odd, seeing you with a body now. I like it though. And your blue eyes. I'm glad the Doctor did that. They're beautiful. Are you happy with your body now?"

"Sorta, I miss being able to ride next to your breasts. I had an excuse to touch them."

"Cheeky," Rose said while he giggled and waggled his eyebrows.

Rose reached out and took his right hand. John smiled and squeezed her hand back. They hesitated for a moment and then Rose leaned in and kissed him gently. John sighed as he kissed back and then it became more passionate while they leaned back on the hill. John lifted Rose's shirt and Rose shivered with pleasure when he ran his hands up her back. He undid her bra and moved it up so he could feel her breasts. He fondled them while they snogged. They were so absorbed in fondling one another that they didn't realize the Doctor and Ianto were watching them until the Doctor cleared his throat. Rose gasped and jerked her head up while the Doctor and Ianto laughed.

"Hi, we're back," the Doctor said, between giggles. "I'm glad you found something to occupy your time while we were gone. I got you some shoes, John, but if you're gonna land up in bed with Rose, you might not need them right now."

Rose rolled off of John and they sat up. The Doctor was holding a large rucksack and a black sleeping bag. He handed them to John who was still blushing from being discovered.

"Everyone else asleep?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah, I think so," Rose said.

"I'm gonna do the same," Ianto said, tapping the Doctor on the shoulder.

"Good night," the others said to him.

Ianto wished them goodnight and turned. They heard him chuckle as he walked to the house and the Doctor grinned a cheeky grin as he sat down beside his friends.

"So…wasting no time breaking in this new body of yours, eh?" he said to John.

He patted his shoulder when John blushed at that. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two perception filters.

"Made more of these," he said, handing one to each of them. "Now we're all protected. And we found a shop but they didn't have any suits so I just got you some t-shirts and trousers and a pair of white Nikes. Sorry, but that's all they had."

"It's fine, thanks for doing that," John said, opening it up and reaching inside.

He pulled out a fresh pair of socks and the Nikes and put them on while the Doctor stared at the legs in the distance.

"He has one of those in Cardiff," he said, pointing to it. "It's not quite as big as that and it's nearly finished, only the head was missing. Apparently, he's reminding everyone who their master is, lest they forget."

"All over the world, I bet. James said he's putting his face on Mount Rushmore," Rose said.

"I don't doubt it; the Master's ego is just as large as his capacity for cruelty."

"How long have you known him?" Rose said.

"Oh, since I was a small boy. We became friends because we were both outcasts in our own little way. We remained friends until the Academy when his madness got the better of him and he began to do evil things. We parted ways because I wouldn't behave like he did and then I tried to stop him and that tore us apart even further. We've been at odds and battling each other ever since."

"And he hid during the Time War?" John said.

The Doctor snorted.

"Yes, the coward. I was risking my life day in and day out and he swans off to the year 100 trillion the moment they ask him to defend the universe. Some things never change. But…now that we have our own little army and our own defenses, we can fight back and undo all of this."

_And send me back to the other world,_ Rose thought to herself.

The Doctor patted her shoulder and she looked at the Doctor.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone. I'm gonna go inside and read those journals and find out what's been going on. Have a good night."

They wished him a good night and he smiled fondly at them before he got up from the ground. He took the rucksack and sleeping bag with him and when he was inside the house, Rose put his arm around John's side and they gazed at the stars together.


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter Forty Nine

The next morning, everyone assembled at the kitchen table. While they ate their breakfast, Ianto opened an atlas and the Doctor set the journals on the table while they planned their next move. They were eating eggs, bacon and croissant and James had coffee while everyone else had tea.

"Now…" Ianto said while they looked at a map of France. "Are we still sticking to our plan of trying to infiltrate a military base and sending a message to the world because we need to head in the direction of a military base if we're doing that."

"Are there any bases in France?" Rose asked.

"There's some in Germany," James said. "I had a cousin who was in the army and they sent him to Germany."

Ianto turned to Germany in the atlas and they studied the map.

"Any idea where he was stationed?" the Doctor asked James.

"Not sure. This was when I was a kid and I didn't see him except at funerals."

"Ugh, I hate that," Rose said. "They come up to you and know you since you were small and you're trying to figure out who they are."

"Yup, that's how it is in my family," James said. "So sorry I can't be more help."

"No worries, we're headed that way anyway," the Doctor said. "We'll ask the locals where the army bases are. And while we're here and looking for places to go, I wanted to share with you some things I found in the journals. Lazarus Labs wasn't the only lab experimenting with alien tech. It was the main one but they also had another lab in Tokyo that was experimenting with growing clones. Seems they were able to extract more DNA from the sample they took from John's hand. But in fact, it doesn't take much to get a DNA sample, just one cell, and that means you can get several samples even from a small piece of flesh. John, how big was the sample the Master took from you?"

John held up his fingers about two inches apart. The Doctor nodded.

"That would be enough to create a few clones and put some of the genetic material in the Master's screwdriver," he said. "Now…according to these journals, there was an attack at Lazarus Labs when the clone that we saw managed to escape and went bonkers and killed that woman we saw in the corridor. They then had to kill the clone because they deemed him too dangerous to live."

Rose flinched at that and took John's hand.

"But you said the bodies were still laying there. Why didn't they dispose of them?" Martha said.

"Dunno. This was the last journal entry that was written and from what I can deduce, whoever wrote it was in a hurry. The handwriting is rushed," the Doctor said. "Maybe the Master found out about it and ordered them to abandon the lab and they didn't have time to dispose of the dead bodies. However…"

The Doctor put one of the journals in front of him and opened up to a page he had marked with a piece of paper. He read to them while they listened.

"We have made progress with the clone. He seems to respond to the conditioning and we are hopeful that we can finish brainwashing him soon and begin mating him with the prisoners."

"Conditioning? That doesn't sound good," Martha said while Rose squeezed John's hand.

"Does it say what the conditioning is?" Ianto asked.

"No. This entry was made several months ago though," the Doctor said.

"So, he could be brainwashed by now," Rose said.

The Doctor nodded grimly.

"That's not all," he said, turning to another bookmarked page. "They have another entry here that lists the women they captured for the mating process. They list their names and where they're from. There is one from Japan but the others are foreign born, including one from London, Chiswick to be precise and I know who she is."

"Who?" Rose said.

"Remember I told you that after I said goodbye to you, I met this woman who was sucked on to my TARDIS."

"The bride?" Rose said.

"Yes, her name is Donna Noble and they have a Donna Noble listed here from Chiswick. I'm willing to bet it's the same Donna."

"And they're going to try to mate her with this clone?" Ianto said.

"Yes, I can just imagine her reaction to that. I'm sure Donna kicked and screamed and yelled their ears off and she'll do that because I can guarantee you if they don't lobotomize her first, she will be dragged the whole way to the bed or whatever they're gonna use to mate them with."

"So, we go and rescue your friend?" James said.

"I'd like to. I want to try to find this clone as well and see what they've done to him. They did brain surgery on the one that went out of control so I can just imagine what they did to this clone to make him obey. I'm sure it wasn't pleasant."

"We could use the manipulator and go to Tokyo and check," Ianto said.

"Yeah, it sounds like this is very urgent," James said. "If we can hop over there, I'd say go and check this out first."

"There's more though," the Doctor said, turning to another bookmarked page. "There were other experiments including trying to make more Toclafane using the current humans. Rassilon knows why since he has six billion Toclafane at his disposal but I s'pose the Master needs to do something with those he can't use for slave labor. According to this, they've tried a few tests but nothing successful but this was also from several months ago."

"And this is also in Tokyo?" Martha said.

"No, they have a third lab in Los Angeles. They're doing the experiments there."

"So, we're gonna be very busy," James said.

"Seems so, but I suggest going to Tokyo first. The other things can wait for the moment," the Doctor said. "I want to rescue Donna and I want to see what happened to this clone and if we can save it as well. So, is everyone okay with that?"

Everyone else nodded.

"Then I suggest we get some rest and leave tonight. Once again, we'll need the cover of darkness but at least we'll have our perception filters," the Doctor said. "I just hope that we're not too late and Donna isn't dead or a vegetable."


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter Fifty

"We're so grateful to you for everything you've done," Martha said to Marie when they were ready to leave.

"I hope you know what you're doing. This is dangerous," Marie said to them as they stood around her.

"Tell me about it but we can handle anything that comes our way," Martha said, gesturing to her friends.

As they said their goodbyes, John looked down at Mimi who was now rubbing up against his legs. He picked her up and she purred as he held her against her body.

"No more loving my hand, eh?" he said to her. "You take care now and be a good kitty."

He set her down on the floor and hugged Marie, wishing her goodbye and good luck. After everyone was finished, they gathered up their gear and headed outside. The Doctor had already told them that they needed to walk a bit and get far enough away from the house so Marie wouldn't see them use the manipulator. As they turned and walked to the back of the house and off the property, they could hear the sounds of construction work in the distance.

"I see the work crew is busy," Ianto said, pointing to the legs.

"I wonder how many people are building that thing?" Martha said.

"Probably half of Paris is my guess," Ianto said.

"What about Marie? Why isn't she working on it?" James said.

"Maybe she's too weak to do it," Ianto said. "Or maybe they missed her since she's all alone out here in the countryside."

"If we defeat the Master, how're we gonna get rid of all those eyesores?" Rose said.

"I have a way," the Doctor said. "That's why eventually I'll have to go back up to the Valiant and become his prisoner again."

"Yeah, but won't he torture or kill you?" James said.

"Torture, perhaps. Kill me? He's had several opportunities to do that and he never does. Deep down inside, I think he still values our friendship. With me gone, there'll be a big hole in his hearts and he knows it. Case in point, I was a feeble old man and it wouldn't have taken much to kill me but he never did. Nor do I think he'd torture me to the point of crippling me. I think he enjoys the cat and mouse aspect of our relationship."

"He sounds like a weirdo," James said.

"That too," the Doctor said while everyone laughed.

When they were far enough away from the house, they gathered together and grabbed hold of each other after the Doctor set the coordinates. They vanished in a flash of light and the next thing they knew they were in Tokyo. Everyone staggered around, trying to recover from the effects of the manipulator. Once everyone had their equilibrium back, they took a look around. It was a clear moonlit night with a slight chill to the air. The streets were deserted, making the normally bustling city look like a ghost town. All around them was evidence of the damage from the Toclafane. The Doctor pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"They wrote down the addresses of the labs in Tokyo and LA," he said to his friends. "Trouble is, I don't know Tokyo well enough to find my way around. We need to find a guide."

"Where? There's no one around," John said.

"I s'pose we'll have to knock on some doors," the Doctor said. "Risk getting shot so we can find a guide."

"Maybe we can offer to talk to some people about you in exchange for shelter and a guide," Martha said.

"Good idea. Let's try to find someplace where people might be sheltering for the night," the Doctor said.

They headed towards some deserted shops. Most of the windows were broken with shards of glass scattered on the pavement. The stores had been looted and they were all dark and spooky looking. They went in between two shops down an alley and froze when they came out the other side. Hanging from a lamppost was a dead body. The man had been hung by the neck with a chain. His flesh was decaying and his eyes had been pecked out by birds. There was a cardboard sign that was written in Japanese hanging around his neck. The TARDIS was out of commission so there was no translation available.

"What does it say?" Rose said to the Doctor.

"Guilty of inciting rebellion," he said to her. "So this is what they do to people who resist the Master."

"So, how are we going to get people to rise up against him?" James said.

"What makes you think we're doing that?" the Doctor asked him.

"Well, I mean, that's why we're telling people about you, right? To start a rebellion?"

"Well, yes…but not with guns. There's too many Toclafane and the humans would be overwhelmed. Not to mention the Master is a genius and as much as I love humanity, it would be hard to bring him down. No, we're going to overthrow the Master using more subtle methods than guns."

"But that still won't stop people trying to rise up against him," Ianto said.

"Yes. And I admire that humans haven't lost their will to fight but for the moment, it's not feasible to do that, not with the Toclafane everywhere."

They walked on past the corpse. Rose suddenly stopped everyone and pointed to an alley across the street. They looked where she was pointing and saw a young woman watching them from the shadows.

"Ohio gozaimasu, watashi wa Doctor desu," he called to her.

"Come again?" James said.

"He said hello, I'm the Doctor," John said.

"Go away," the woman replied in Japanese.

John translated that while the Doctor left them and walked towards her.

"I mean you no harm," he spoke in Japanese while John translated for everyone. "We're friends. We need a guide to take us to this address."

He stopped about fifteen feet from his friends and showed her the piece of paper. The woman gave him a wary look as she stepped out of the alley. She had bobbed black hair and an angular face and dark eyes. She was short and thin and the Doctor noticed she had several bruises on her arms.

"What happened?" he asked in Japanese while he pointed to her arms.

She glanced down at her arms and stepped back into the shadows.

"I only want to help," the Doctor said. "I'm a friend. I suspect some of the Master's minions have hurt you but I'm not one of them and neither are my friends."

"I was beaten for being out after curfew," the woman said after a few moments of silence.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said. "I'm not with the Master. My friends and I want to help bring him down."

"Shhh, someone might hear you," the woman hissed at him. "Crazy foreigner, you wanna get yourself killed?"

"Can you take us somewhere where we can speak in private then?" the Doctor said.

The woman took a step back, the wary look returning.

"Look, I give you my word that we're on your side. If we betray you, you have my permission to kill us, yeah?" the Doctor said.

The woman studied him for a moment and then nodded.

"Thank you. What's your name?" the Doctor said.

"Kameko," she said.

"The Doctor beckoned to his friends and introduced them to Kameko. Kameko nodded a hello, then looked at the piece of paper.

"Do you know where this is?" the Doctor said in Japanese while John translated.

"I think so," Kameko said with a nod, "but we can't go tonight. There's a curfew, it's too dangerous."

"This is a laboratory that's run by the Master. I have a friend who's imprisoned inside it and I can't wait," the Doctor said. "I have a way to get past the Toclafane and the Master's minions if you'll help guide us there."

Kameko thought for a moment. She looked at the Doctor's eyes and found herself trusting him, even though she barely knew him.

"Okay, but you better be right," Kameko said. "Because there are many dangers here and you'll die if you make one wrong move."


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter Fifty One

"You must be kidding me."

Kameko raised her eyebrow when the Doctor showed her an extra perception filter and explained the science behind it.

"You expect me to believe that this key will shield me from all the evil out here tonight?" she said. "Look, I know lots of foreigners love anime and some of the anime deals with magic objects but this is going a bit too far."

"Just trust me," the Doctor said. "We've survived this long by doing this. It'll work, I swear."

Kameko gave him a dubious look while she took the perception filter and slipped it around her neck. She glanced at the address and then beckoned to them while she walked off.

"So, where did you come from?" Kameko said to the Doctor while they walked. "I've never seen you before."

"We were stranded here on holiday," the Doctor said. "We managed to find each other and my friend is the last person we need to find."

"Yes, but…you want to go into a laboratory run by the Master. Are you nuts?"

"Yes, I am," the Doctor said.

Rose and Martha snickered when John translated that. Rose caught up with the Doctor and walked beside him.

"He's bonkers but when you're in a bind, you'll want him there beside you," she said.

The Doctor translated that and Kameko glanced at the Doctor and nodded.

"It's strange but I do feel like I can trust him," she said.

The Doctor translated that with a smug look on his face and Rose rolled her eyes when he stuck his tongue out at her.

"He's also a child in the body of a grown man so don't let that bother you," Rose said.

She waited for the Doctor to translate that and nudged him when he didn't.

"Oi, say it."

She sighed when the Doctor whistled and sped up and away from her. She shrugged at Kameko and the Doctor chuckled when he slowed down and let them catch up to him. Then suddenly, two Toclafane came zooming out of a nearby alley. The Doctor slapped his hand around Kameko's mouth when she was about to scream and everyone froze while the Toclafane flew around on patrol. Kameko's eyes bulged when one of the Toclafane flew over to them and hovered a few feet from where she was standing. But to her amazement, the Toclafane did nothing and flew away. Everyone waited until they were gone before they relaxed.

"That ball creature, it didn't see me," she said to the Doctor.

"I know. Now do you believe me about the magic key?" he said.

"Yes," Kameko said.

"It'll work as long as you don't draw attention to yourself so if you see one of those Toclafane balls or someone that looks suspicious, don't speak and either freeze or just casually walk by them. They won't notice you unless you make yourself noticeable. Got it?'

She nodded and they continued with their search. It took a couple of hours before Kameko located the address deep in the heart of Tokyo. The lab was made of glass and steel. Unlike most of the other buildings, it was undamaged. They approached it cautiously, not speaking, while they walked to the front door. Kameko glanced up at a CCTV camera mounted on a pole near the front door but the Doctor was unconcerned about it and Kameko watched in silent wonder when he used his screwdriver to open the door. They slipped inside and the Doctor closed the door behind them. Just inside the interior was the reception area. The desk was unoccupied and the top of it was filled with paperwork in addition to office supplies like paper and pens. The Doctor walked over to it and noticed a photo in a silver frame at the back of the desk that showed a middle aged Japanese woman with two young boys. The woman looked normal enough which led him to wonder if she had been a victim of the Master's brainwashing. She didn't look like the sort of woman who would work for him willingly.

_Then again, neither does Lucy_, he thought to himself.

He stepped away from the desk and everyone moved deeper into the building in search of Donna and the clone.

Meanwhile, back on the Valiant, Jack was thoroughly bored. His arms were aching from the chains holding them up and he wished he could see his friends. His gaze fell on the guard at the door. There were three guards who had eight hour shifts and this one was the cutest of the three. The guard had his back to him so Jack cleared his throat to get his attention.

"So…uh…what's your name?" Jack said to him.

The guard didn't acknowledge him.

"You know, I've been here for a couple of months and you've been guarding me and I don't even know your name. Care to let me know what it is?"

The guard said nothing.

"Come on, surely you have no objections to telling me your name," Jack said.

The guard remained silent and Jack sighed. To pass the time he began singing Ninety Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall. He got down to the ninety first bottle before the guard finally turned with an annoyed look on his face. Jack stopped singing and gave him a charming smile.

"Be silent," the guard growled before turning back around.

"Sheesh, no appreciation for music," Jack muttered.

While this was going on, Lucy was upstairs silently creeping down the hallway towards the bedroom she shared with her husband. She had learned enough about Time Lord physiology from her husband talking about the Doctor to know that both hearts must be damaged to permanently kill a Time Lord. She realized that she made her choice when she married Harry but she also realized that he was slowly destroying the Earth and if she didn't do something, she would soon be the last human and she knew that shortly after that, her husband might kill her and exterminate the human race. She couldn't let it happen. Every night, her husband went into a deep meditative trance that allowed him to restore his energy. It wasn't exactly sleeping but she knew it was hard to wake him once he fell into this trance and it was her best chance to kill him.

When she finally got to the bedroom door, she opened it slowly and looked inside. The Master was lying on their bed, arms at his sides, his eyes closed while he meditated. Lucy slipped inside and silently closed the door behind her. Holding the daggers in both hands, she tiptoed toward the bed. When she reached it, she stood over him, looking down at his peaceful expression, loathing him and the way he had convinced her to become something she wasn't. A flicker of love flitted through her mind but she quickly got rid of it and steeled herself. She raised both daggers up above her head and paused for a moment, looking down at him. Then she plunged the daggers toward his hearts but to her surprise, the Master rolled out of the way and the daggers plunged down into the mattress right where his hearts would have been. Lucy saw the murderous look on his face as the Master leapt out of bed. She tried to pull the daggers out but the Master was quicker. She grunted when he punched her in the nose and she reeled back towards the wall while the Master jerked one of the daggers out of the mattress and slammed his body up against hers. The force of the impact against the wall knocked the air out of her and she stared at the enraged face of her husband while he held the dagger to his throat.

"Betraying little bitch," he snarled at her. "I knew you were up to something and if I just waited, you would make your move. You're no better than all the other apes."

"Go on, kill me then. I'd rather be dead than be married to you," Lucy said.

The Master breathed heavily through his nose, his face red as he glared at her with utter hate. Then Lucy got chills up her spine when he suddenly calmed himself and an evil smile slowly spread over his face.

"Oh no," he said. "Death is too good for the likes of you. I have another, better idea. Good night, sweet darling."

Lucy grunted when he hit her hard in the face with the butt of the dagger, sending her into unconsciousness. As the Master stepped back, she slumped to the floor and stared down at her with contempt.

"Oh, no, my dearest Lucy," he said. "Death is too quick and easy and no one who betrays me ever gets a quick and easy end. I have other plans for you and when I get through, you'll wish you've never been born."


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter Fifty Two

The Doctor was relieved when they realized that the lab was empty except for a lone Toclafane who was patrolling the building. The building was three stories so they only encountered the ball once on his rounds. They froze and let it pass and when it was gone, they continued with their search. The Doctor quietly described Donna's appearance to everyone so they'd know what to look for. They decided to split up into two teams with the Doctor and John each taking a group. The Doctor took Martha, Ianto and James while John took Rose and Kameko. John's group stayed on the ground floor while the Doctor's group went to find a lift.

"D'ya think Donna's still alive?" Rose said softly to John while they walked.

"Dunno, I hope so," he said.

"You don't know her, right?"

"No, I've never met her before but I s'pose if she's here, she'll recognize me," he said.

They walked towards a door and John tried it. It was unlocked and he opened it and looked in. It was somebody's office. They looked around and then closed the door and walked on. They tried several more doors but all of them were offices.

"Blast," John said. "No labs in sight."

They were heading towards another door when Rose suddenly stopped John and Kameko. They turned and saw her pointing to the ground. They looked down and saw a steel handle was embedded deep in the concrete floor. John made the women step back and then he tried it. He was shocked for a moment when he realized that it was a hidden trap door designed to look like concrete. When he lifted it though, he saw wood underneath the faux concrete. He lifted it up all the way and back, laying it back on the floor. He pulled a torch out of his pocket and shined it down at the opening. They saw wooden steps leading down.

"What is this?" Kameko said.

John translated for Rose and translated back to Kameko when Rose said, "Maybe it's where they're keeping the prisoners."

They went down the stairs with John taking the lead. When they reached bottom, they were in a narrow corridor. On either side of them were cells that were embedded in the walls. A Perspex wall covered the only opening into the prison. They walked to the first one and looked inside. It was empty. The walls were made of concrete and there was a ratty old quilt in the corner that served as bedding. To John's distress, he also saw dog's bowls for food and water. Shaking his head, they turned around and looked in the cell across from it. They saw a young Asian woman lying on a quilt, half naked and shivering. There was half eaten food in her dog bowl and the other bowl was filled with water. John felt disgust at what he was seeing. He noticed there was a keyhole in the left side of the Perspex and could see the thin outline of a door.

"I don't have the screwdriver," he said to Rose. "We need the Doctor to come here."

"I'll go get him," Rose said.

John nodded and told her to be careful before she ran back up the stairs. They walked to the cell next to it and saw a black woman inside. She was also shivering and half naked. John shook his head sadly and they went across the corridor and checked the cell. That one was empty and so was the one next to it. But when they went across to the last cell, they saw a half naked woman lying on her quilt staring up at the ceiling. She turned her head towards them and stared at them with dull, empty eyes. Her hair was short, as short as the Ninth Doctor's had been but John could tell it was ginger colored.

"I think this is Donna," he said to Kameko in Japanese. "But we have to wait till the Doctor comes because he has the lock pick. Donna? Are you Donna?" he said to the woman.

Donna stared at him for a moment in silence.

"Doctor?" she said. "Is that you or am I imagining things?"

"Well…I am technically the Doctor but I'm not the original Doctor. He's coming though. Are you alright?"

"No," Donna said.

"Hold on, we're going to get you out of there," John said.

"How did you find me?" Donna said weakly.

"Um, there's a lab in London that had journals that mentioned this lab and your name was listed. The Doctor saw it and came here to rescue you along with these other women. What did they do to you?"

"Beat me," she said. "Starved me or fed me dog food. They kept saying they wanted to brainwash me and use me to make babies."

John's hearts went out to her. He reassured her that the Doctor was coming before he heard feet on the wooden steps. He looked up and saw Rose and the Doctor coming downstairs. He walked over to John and John saw the anguish in the Doctor's face when he saw Donna.

"Oh, Donna," the Doctor said, getting out his screwdriver and unlocking the door.

He called for everyone else to come down and John showed him where the other two women were. The Doctor unlocked their doors and the Doctor went inside Donna's cell while the others tended to the two women.

"Donna," the Doctor said, kneeling down beside her. "Are you alright?"

Donna looked at him.

"Are you the actual Doctor?" she said.

"Yes. The other Doctor is a clone," he said. "Speaking of, did they mention you mating with one of my clones?"

Donna was taken aback.

"Just how many clones do you have?" she said.

"Um…John, this clone that's supposedly here and two dead ones back in London."

"I see. And are you sure you counted them all?" she said.

"No, I'm sure by the time this is over and done with, there'll be many more. Did they tell you why you're here?"

"No, they failed to mention that while they were beating me," Donna said. "Did say I was suppose to mate with someone."

"Yes, that someone is supposed to be one of my clones."

Donna was stunned into silence. Her mouth opened but at first she couldn't bring the words out.

"What?" she finally said.

"I'll explain everything but first I want to get you out of here and get you and these other women to safety. Can you walk?"

"Think so, I'm aching though."

The Doctor nodded. He helped Donna to stand and put the quilt over her half naked body. She was stiff and sore but with the Doctor's help, she managed to walk out of her cell. John and James helped the other two captives and they walked them up the stairs. Once they were upstairs, the Doctor handed John and James perception filters and he put one around Donna while they did the same with the other two women. Then they walked them to the nearest office and helped them sit down on a sofa on the right side of the room. Once they were resting and comfortable, Rose and James volunteered to stay with them while the others looked for the clone. The others closed the door and left while Rose and James stayed behind. Rose found a mini refrigerator in the corner beside a window and looked in it. She found some cans of soda pop and they gave one can to each of the women. They quietly asked the two unfamiliar women their names and where they were from.

"Sheila," the black woman said softly, "I'm from Detroit."

"Imiko, I'm from Osaka," the Asian woman said.

"Are there any other women here?" James asked.

The three women shared a glance.

"There were two other women but I think they killed em," Sheila said.

"They used them in experiments?" James asked.

"Dunno," Donna said. "They were imprisoned with us and beaten and starved and then one day they came and got them and we never saw them again."

"And you were gonna be next eventually," James said.

"S'pose so," Donna said. "I was too busy just trying to survive to give it much thought. The way they were treating me, I was ready to welcome death."

"Don't worry, we'll take care of you and get you healed up," Rose said. "We might find somewhere to spend the night so everyone can rest."

"Anywhere sounds good as long as it's not that cell," Sheila said.

Meanwhile, the others were on the second floor searching for the clone. They had run into the Toclafane once and stood still while it passed by before moving on. The Doctor used his screwdriver to unlock any locked doors but they only found offices, a kitchen and lavatories. No laboratories.

"Maybe the lab's on the third floor," Martha said.

"Or there's another hidden room," Ianto said.

"Should we split up and have two people search the third floor?" Martha asked.

"Yeah, you and Ianto go ahead. I'll take Kameko," he said before translating to her what he just said.

Kameko nodded and the Doctor and she walked off while Ianto and Martha went back towards the lift.


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter Fifty Three

After an hour of searching, the Doctor finally gave up and turned to Kameko.

"I don't think the lab is here or else there's another hidden room. I scanned and I can't find any secret passages. Maybe the lab is located somewhere else," he said to her in Japanese. "It's getting late though; we need to find somewhere to spend the night."

"I can help with that. I'll take you to our hideout," Kameko said.

"Brilliant. We'll round up everybody and leave here for the night," the Doctor said.

They found everyone and met back in the office. Everyone helped Donna, Sheila and Imiko to stand and they headed towards the front door.

"You didn't find your clone?" Rose asked the Doctor while they walked.

"No. But that journal entry was old, they could have killed him the same way they killed the other clone. Perhaps they put him to death after the other clone went insane to prevent him from attacking. I didn't find a lab either."

"There is a lab," Donna said as the Doctor helped her walk. "I've been there."

"Do you know where it is?" the Doctor said.

She shook her head and the Doctor sighed when she told him that she had been sedated before and after her visit to the lab.

"So, there is one but it might not be here," the Doctor said. "We'll come back and look for it, in the meantime, we have to get you and Sheila and Imiko to safety."

They walked out into the cool night air. While Kameko led them away from the lab, a lone figure stood at the glass doors. The figure watched them walk away for a moment before he slipped out into the night and began to shadow them.

"Thank you," Donna asid to the Doctor while she walked with him.

"You're welcome. I'm glad I found you," the Doctor said. "Are you alright?"

"I'll manage," she said. "Been on my own since those things attacked Chiswick. They flew in the house and killed my mom, dad and granddad. I was upstairs and hid in a cupboard and they didn't find me. After that, I did everything I could to survive on my own."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said. "I haven't had an easy time of it either. I was aged till I was about a hundred years old. I just recently found a way to age myself back."

"Can't imagine you at that age," Donna said.

"It wasn't fun, that's for sure," the Doctor said.

They fell into silence for several minutes and then Donna looked at the Doctor.

"Been lookin' for ya," she said to him.

"Because of the Toclafane?" he said.

"No, even before that. I…made a mistake when I told you I didn't want to come with you. I realized afterwards that I wasn't thinking and after having time to think about it, I realized that I really did want to travel with you. So I've been keeping my eyes open and trying to find you. I want to go with you."

"That's fine except I don' t have control of my TARDIS at the moment, it's in the hands of the Master. But when we get it back, yes, you're welcome to come with me."

He chuckled when Donna laughed and threw her arms around him. He looked into her eyes and his hearts warmed when he saw a glimmer there for the first time since they found her. He put his arm around her while they walked.

"What happened to your hair?" the Doctor said.

"They shaved it off. Don't know why," Donna said.

"Um, you better let me check that when we get to safety. The clone in London had a scar on top of his head. They were opening up his head and doing brain surgery."

He patted her on the shoulder when Donna gave him a horrified look.

"Whatever they did, we'll sort it out, promise," he said.

They walked for about an hour and then Kameko led them to a large department store. She looked around and forced open the front doors. They followed her inside and gasped when a Japanese male came up to them and pointed a gun in their faces.

"No, they're with us," she said in Japanese.

John translated for everyone while Kameko explained to the man what happened. The man lowered the gun and nodded as he stepped back.

"We hide out here," Kameko said. "Toshi guards the front door and makes sure no one gets inside."

"You hide out in a department store?" the Doctor said to her.

"Yes, we have everything we need here. All the supplies we could want which is why we guard it against looters and anyone else who might try to break in here," she said.

"Clever," Rose said when John translated. "Beats hiding out in warehouses filled with porn DVDs."

John snickered when the Doctor looked over his shoulder at her with an odd look on his face. Rose shrugged and grinned when John nudged her. They followed Kameko into the department store and up a stopped escalator to the second floor.

"You can find clothes here," Kameko said to the Doctor. "Food, books, camping equipment, we've done a good job protecting this place from looters."

"Excellent," the Doctor said to her. "We can get some clothes for the women. Is there a place to rest?"

"We have tents, mattresses, sofas, beds."

"Good!" Martha said when John translated. "You're right, Rose, beats hiding out in the warehouse."

They walked up another escalator and Kameko led them to the back where there was a sea of beds, tents, air mattresses, mattresses and sleeping bags. Kameko introduced her friends to several of the people who were camped out there and they offered her a double bed for the women to rest in.

"While you rest, we'll go find some supplies," the Doctor said to Donna while Sheila and Imiko lay down on the bed.

"No, I'd like to come with you, if you don't mind. I don't feel like lying down yet," Donna said.

The Doctor nodded. John and Rose offered to go with him while the others were shown which beds and mattresses and tents were still empty. When the Doctor told Kameko what they wanted to do, Kameko gave them shopping baskets to hold their supplies in. The Doctor thanked her and he, Rose, John and Donna walked towards an escalator on the far side of the room. They went up another escalator when they got to the next level and reached the top floor of the department store. They looked around at the clothes and found the women's section.

"Get whatever you want," the Doctor said to Rose and Donna, "I'm buying."

"Yeah, right," Rose said while John laughed.

They headed into the women's section. Donna still had the quilt wrapped around her but when she found some things in her size and found the location of the changing room; she chose a few items and went to try them on. Rose looked through some leather jackets on one of the racks when she felt a nudge at her back. She turned to see John holding up a red and black lace teddy with a hopeful look on his face.

"Now where am I gonna get the chance to wear that, ya git. We're with a large group of people."

"This is a department store, we could go to the sushi department and you could wear it there."

"No thanks, I'm looking for something a bit more practical."

John pouted and she kissed his cheek.

"Maybe when all this is over and we're together and alone," she said.

"Ooo, I better keep this then," John said, stuffing it in his shopping basket.

Rose giggled and shook her head while she went back to examining the leather jackets. While she was doing that, Donna came out of the changing room. She had on a plum t-shirt with tan slacks. The Doctor smiled and nodded his approval.

"Much better than the rags," he said to her.

"Yeah, I like it. I'm so glad they decided to hide in here, convenient for us," she said.

She wore the clothes while she walked around, shopping for other things. While she examined a long navy blue winter coat, she heard John say Rose's name and paused for a moment in thought. She had been out of it for awhile but her mind was clearing now and she realized something. She walked over to Rose who was modeling a black leather jacket for John.

"Rose? The Rose that was lost in the parallel universe?" she said.

"Yeah, that's me."

"He spoke about you," Donna said. "He was grieving when I showed up in his TARDIS. I was out of sorts at first and the name didn't register but…I'm glad you're back with him."

"Yeah, me too," Rose said.

"I'm glad to finally put a face to the name. I was wondering if he ever found you," Donna said.

Rose smiled and took her hand.

"it's nice to meet you. I love meeting other people who have traveled with the Doctor," she said.

Donna smiled and shook her hand. She looked at John.

"And you're the clone?" she said to him.

"Yes. I have blue eyes. The Doctor did that so you can tell us apart."

"Nice," Donna said. "But you don't remember me?"

"I was off the Doctor's body by the time you came along. I don't remember anyone past Rose but it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same here," Donna said, shaking his hand. "It's great to be out of that prison cell."

"Tell me about it," Rose said. "I was a prisoner of the Master before we escaped. He was the one that pulled me through the other universe. He tortured me briefly before we got away."

"That makes two of us," Donna said, grimacing. "Bastard. I hope him and the people who work for him are brought down."

"We'll do everything in our power to make sure that happens," John said. "In the meantime, we just take things one day at a time. And that means getting some rest when we get done here."

"I will, just wanted to get into some proper clothes before we did that," Donna said.

Rose patted her on the shoulder and walked with her while they looked for some more clothes.

Meanwhile, the mysterious figure was watching the building from across the street. He lifted his wrist and punched a code into his communicator. He waited for someone to respond and when they did he said…

"I need to speak to Mister Saxon; I have some information on the location of the Doctor and his companions."


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter Fifty Four

After finding a few more things they needed and getting Donna a rucksack and sleeping bag, they walked up from the first floor back to the beds and sleeping bags. Kameko showed them some air mattresses that weren't being used and Donna and Rose lay down to take a nap. Ianto and James were using their sleeping bags and were napping several feet from the women. The Doctor looked at John.

"Need a kip, my friend?" he asked him.

"No, I don't feel like having a lie down. Too much on my mind."

"Oh? Care to let me in on your thoughts?" the Doctor said.

John led him away from the beds. The Doctor followed behind him and when they reached the escalators, he sat down on the top step and the Doctor went past him and sat down two steps below him.

"What's on your mind?" he said to John.

"I've just been thinking about the clone," John said. "I hate that the Master has used a piece of me to age you and make all these copies of me that he ends up vivisectioning before killing them off."

The Doctor put his hand on John's knee.

"I understand, my friend, but you were helpless at the time he took the sample, weren't you?"

"Yes and no. At the time I was reluctant to let people know I was alive, especially the Master so I laid there and let him do that to me. But I didn't know he'd do all this with that sample. If I'd known, I would have stopped him."

"Yes, but you can't go back and change time on your own timeline. Trust me, my friend, what he did with your hand is a drop in the bucket compared to what the Toclafane have done."

"I know but I hate that I've added to the mayhem. I hated that he used me to age you."

The Doctor smiled at that.

"Well, I'm back to normal so don't worry about that either."

"There's something else on my mind."

"And that is?"

"Why are we going around the world and telling people about you if it isn't to incite rebellion," John said.

He explained about tapping into the Archangel satellites and how he was going to use the combined psychic energy to bring him back to his youthful self.

"Okay, you've done that," John said when he finished his explanation, "so we don't need to keep going."

"Well, you know that eventually I will have to go back to change everything back to the way it was before which means I have to become his prisoner again and I'm sure he'll try to age me again to keep me feeble."

"I wish you didn't have to do that," John said. "I hated seeing you in that condition and you know he'll torture you without mercy when you fall back into his hands again."

"Yes but as I said before, he won't take it so far that I become completely incapacitated or die. He's not interested in me being a vegetable, no fun for him."

"So, you're going to rely on this past friendship of yours to keep you safe?"

"Yes. Because I still believe that deep down there is still some good left in him. Most of what he does is because he was driven mad by the Schism and for that, I blame the Time Lords. He's had plenty of opportunities over the centuries to kill me or cripple me and he never does. I think what he does is in part a cry for help. I think he wants me to help him but is too much of an egomaniac to voice that so he continually stalks me or does things to get my attention so I'll have to come and stop him."

"I hope you're right, Doctor. I hope he still has some good in him but it might take till the end of your lives before you see it.'

"Always have to have hope, my friend, even in the bleakest of times," he said.

John nodded and smiled when the Doctor stood up and patted his shoulder before going past him. John remained sitting on the step, staring off into space while he mulled over what had happened to them recently.

The Master looked up from his laptop when he heard a knock at his office door. He got up from his desk and walked to it. He opened it and the captain of the guards saluted him.

"Mister Saxon, message from your operative in Tokyo," he said. "He has news about the Doctor and his friends and wishes to speak with you."

"Very well, I will speak to him in private," the Master said. "Use the transmat and bring him on board. I'll speak with him in the boardroom."

"Yes, Mister Saxon," the captain said, saluting before he hurried away.

The Master turned and looked at Lucy who was sitting motionless on a sofa in the corner. After her attack, he had beaten her to within an inch of her life and then hypnotized her into submission. He gazed at the blank look on her face and smirked.

"Got a meeting to go to, darling, I'll be back soon," he said.

Lucy nodded slowly, the blank look still on her face. The Master chuckled and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

He headed to the boardroom, eager to hear what his operative had to say about the Doctor. He entered the room and glanced at the tarp tent, now vacant. The Master paused a moment as he fingered the tarp, thinking how empty it looked without its occupant.

"Don't worry, Doctor, you'll be back here soon, right where you belong," he murmured to himself.

He heard the sound of the lift and turned to face it. The lift stopped and the door opened and he smiled broadly when the Doctor's clone stepped out with two guards. The people at the Tokyo labs had worked with him until he was an obedient servant, completely loyal to him. Of course, it helped that they put an implant on the side of his head that went inside and connected with his brain. The implant subdued the clone's natural personality, allowing the brainwashing to take hold. Because of the implant, his hair had been shaved and he was wearing a leather outfit similar to the one the guard's wore. The guards stayed by the lift while the clone walked forward and prostrated himself before his master.

"Rise and report," the Master said.

"My Lord," the clone said, getting to his feet. "The Doctor and his companions are in Tokyo this very moment. They just visited the labs and rescued the last of the female captives. I followed them to a department store where they are being sheltered by rebels."

"Rebels, you say? How very naughty of them," the Master said. "Did any of them see you?"

"No, my Lord, I hid in the secret passageway on the third floor. I overheard them though and they were searching for me."

"So, the Doctor has knowledge of the lab and you. Which must mean he went back to Lazarus Labs."

"Yes, my Lord, he is no longer aged and infirm," the clone said.

"Oh, really. Then that's proof he went back there. Sneakly little bugger, he used Lazarus's machine. How very clever. I was hoping he'd have to leg it around the world on a walking frame. Shit. Ah well…can't have everything the way we want, eh?"

"What should we do, my Lord?" the clone said.

The Master thought for a moment, drumming the drumbeat in his head with his fingers on the table beside him.

"I believe I will send you along with a few guards to take them alive," he said to the clone. "After that, we send the Toclafane in to destroy what remains of Tokyo as a punishment and a warning to the people that they harbor fugitives at their own peril."

He paused for a moment in thought.

"In fact, destroy all of Japan. We'll send a real warning to the survivors of Earth," he said. "But for the moment, we will hold off long enough for you to go down and get them. I want the Doctor and his buddies to stand on the deck of the Valiant and watch Japan's destruction before I deal with them."

"It will be done, my Lord."

"Excellent. Go and carry out my commands then."

The clone prostrated briefly and the Master smirked when he got up, turned and headed back to the lift.


End file.
